Animal rights group that attacked Prince and Princess of Wales for their dog having puppies is reported to charities regulator

The charities regulator is examining a complaint about Peta, the controversial animal rights group that attacked the Prince and Princess of Wales because their dog had puppies and urged the Archbishop of Canterbury to ban beeswax.Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) also called for the World Black Pudding Championships to go vegan and demanded a mackerel festival use cabbage instead of fish.Now critics of the group have lodged a formal complaint with regulator the Charity Commission, alleging Peta’s political stunts are not compatible with its charitable status.Under the commission’s rules, political campaigning cannot be the main reason for a charity’s existence.According to the complaint by the group Peta Watch, which monitors the charity’s activities, Peta ‘is more concerned with gaining publicity and attention than it is for advancing animal welfare’.It said: ‘Peta operates no animal centres, no rescue facilities, no rehoming facilities, and no veterinary or sanctuary provision anywhere in England and Wales.’This was ‘a remarkable omission’ for a charity set up to prevent or relieve the suffering of animals, it claimed. Peta said compassion for animals was at the heart of everything it does. Prince William was pictured with his dog Orla and three of her puppies in a photo taken by his wife Kate and released by Kensington Palace in 2025 Last year's annual black pudding throwing contest was won by 18-year-old Harry Ogden, who managed to knock six Yorkshire puddings from the 20ft high plinth Peta's campaign to replace fish with a cabbage at the annual mackerel festival is one of the political stunts that the charities regulator has been asked to investigatePeta raised £7.7million in donations last year. Its accounts show it increased the pay of its three most senior executives by almost 40 per cent. Almost half of its income went on paying its employees in 2025.Last year, Peta called on the Archbishop of Canterbury to ban beeswax candlesticks, leather Bibles and woollen garments from churches.The group’s founder sent King Charles a letter urging him to disown the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel breed, saying they were cruelly bred 'for a certain appearance'. Last year it caused an outcry for condemning the Prince and Princess of Wales when their dog had puppies, saying the royal couple were ’staggeringly out of touch’ for ‘churning out a litter’ when animal shelters were so full of dogs needing new homes.Two months ago, Peta activists demanded that the World Black Pudding Championships use vegan alternatives for the annual throwing competition in the village of Ramsbottom in Bury. They said it was wrong for pigs to have their ‘blood and fat thrown at a target for a bit of fun’. The tradition is believed to date back to a battle in the War of the Roses, when rival soldiers supposedly hurled food at each other after running short of ammunition.They also targeted the Welsh coastal village of Aberaeron’s annual mackerel fiesta, demanding it be rebranded as a cabbage festival.Peta has attracted criticism from those who claim it operates as a ‘political protest group’ despite having charitable status.In the complaint to the Charity Commission, Peta Watch communications adviser Brian Monteith, who is a former Conservative Member of the Scottish Parliament, wrote: ‘Instead of advancing animal welfare, Peta instead chooses to execute a wide-range of publicity stunts.’He called on the commission to probe whether ‘political campaigning has become the reason for Peta’s existence’. He cited the commission's own guidance that ‘a charity cannot have a political purpose’.In reply, the commission pledged to look into the complaint, saying chief executive David Holdsworth and chairwoman Dame Julia Unwin ‘have requested that this be passed to the relevant team within the Charity Commission for their review and consideration’.Peta's vice president of programmes Elisa Allen claimed Peta Watch had 'no credibility' and said: 'Peta’s aim is, and always has been, to reduce animal suffering, and people are glad to receive information from our investigations and other resources that give them the ability to make compassionate decisions. 'As a UK-registered charity for nearly 30 years, we have convinced hundreds of designers and retailers to drop fur, angora, and wild-animal skins, helped stop experimentation on animals in Europe for cosmetics, seen wild-animal circus bans, and many other ground-breaking victories for animals. 'Despite, or rather because of, these achievements, there are those – mostly made up of industries that profit from animal exploitation – who seek to undermine our work via fake news smear campaigns, because it threatens their bottom line.'