Press Release
Suffolk, Virginia: Poorva Joshipura has been appointed the first-ever president of PETA International, a role that places her at the helm of the organization’s projects across Europe, Asia, and parts of the Middle East. A longtime advocate for animal rights, Joshipura has dedicated more than twenty-five years to championing animal liberation through bold protests, undercover investigations, and high-level engagement with both corporations and governments.
Born in Philadelphia to parents from Gujarat, India, Joshipura grew up in Suffolk and went on to graduate magna cum laude in psychology from Old Dominion University. Her journey with PETA began in 1999 as an intern at the organization’s Norfolk headquarters. From that modest starting point, she rose to become one of the movement’s most influential voices, shaping campaigns that have sparked global attention.
Joshipura has often placed herself on the frontlines of activism. She was once jailed for disrupting a New York fashion show in protest of designer Michael Kors’ use of fur—a practice he later abandoned. She faced public backlash in India, including being burned in effigy after contributing to a Supreme Court ruling banning the use of bulls for entertainment. In Nairobi, she symbolically caged herself to highlight the suffering of chickens slaughtered for food, and in Delhi just last month, she staged a protest simulating painful experiments to expose the abuse of dogs and monkeys in laboratories serving North American clients.
Her commitment to animals is deeply personal. “Years ago, in a slaughterhouse where I was recording how badly cows are killed for leather, I locked eyes with a frightened calf who was pinned to the ground, aware of his pending death, and at that moment vowed to dedicate my life to animal liberation,” Joshipura recalls. “For more than 25 years with PETA entities, from undercover investigator to leading international campaigns, I’ve been true to that pledge.”
As president, she has ambitious goals for PETA International. She plans to harness technology and innovation to reduce and ultimately eliminate animal exploitation. Among her initiatives are replacing live elephants chained in temples with mechanical models and using animatronic animals to nurture empathy among children. She also intends to raise awareness about the connections between animal exploitation and pressing global crises, including pandemics, antibiotic resistance, and climate change. “I’m deeply honored to help shape the global future of animal liberation and put compassion on every map in my new role,” she says. “I will seek to harness technological solutions for animal protection, apply cultural intelligence to advance liberation, and promote the unshakable truth that how we treat animals defines us.”
Throughout her career, Joshipura has played a pivotal role in several landmark victories. She persuaded Mercedes-Benz to become the first car company to offer leather-free interiors by special order, stopped a U.S.-based supplier of laboratory animals from setting up in Europe, and led efforts that resulted in India’s ban on cosmetic testing on animals. She also helped secure the end of horse-drawn carriages in Petra and Mumbai. Beyond activism, she is the author of For a Moment of Taste and Survival at Stake, both exploring the consequences of animal exploitation for humans and the planet.
PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk praised the new president’s leadership, saying, “Poorva has been an unstoppable force in the animal liberation movement. Her extraordinary drive and determination are invaluable in extending our vital efforts to help animals everywhere.”
