People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India commemorated the 76th Republic Day by urging people to go vegan through a unique public demonstration.
On Friday, PETA India supporters on stilts wore cow, goat and chicken masks with tricolour outfits to urge Indians to stand tall for animals.Through the campaign at Azad Maidan, PETA India encouraged citizens to honour Article 51A(g) of the Constitution, which makes it the fundamental duty of Indian citizens to have compassion for animals by giving them the ultimate respect and eating vegan.
Atharva Deshmukh, PETA India Campaigns Coordinator, said, “India is famous worldwide for our cultural and religious reverence for animals, and it is also our Constitutional duty to have compassion for animals and respect for our environment, Vegan eating originated in India, and today, nearly 60 percent of Indians want to try being vegan according to a YouGov India poll.”
PETA India pointed out that contrary to popular belief, eating vegan is an Indian concept, as the Himalayan tribe was vegan 5,000 years ago. It claimed that veganism started influencing the Western world’s eating habits as early as the fourth century BCE.
It cited a 2023 YouGov India poll, which said that 59% of the respondents expressed a strong likelihood of considering a vegan diet shortly, 74% believe that a vegan diet is good for overall health, 73% believes it helps stop animal exploitation, 72% believe it is good for the environment, and 62% feel it is an easy lifestyle to maintain.
PETA India had earlier revealed in its video expose ‘Glass Walls’ that chickens used for eggs are confined to cages so small they can’t spread a single wing. Cows and buffaloes are crammed into vehicles in such large numbers that their bones often break before they’re dragged off to a slaughterhouse, and pigs are stabbed in the heart as they scream. On the decks of fishing boats, fish suffocate or are cut open while they’re still alive. Male chicks and calves are often killed soon after birth because they cannot lay eggs or produce milk.
Each person who goes vegan saves nearly 200 animals a year from abuse and a violent, painful death reduces their risk of suffering from heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and cancer, and helps prevent future pandemics, said PETA India.
