Amid the Malhar certification controversy in Maharashtra, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India has put up a billboard on Pune's Fergusson College Road. The billboard features a goat proclaiming, "I'm ME, Not Mutton. See the Individual. Please, Go Vegan", urging people to reject all forms of animal slaughter and embrace a cruelty-free vegan lifestyle.
"No animal wants to die, whether by jhatka, halal or any other method. All living beings feel pain and fear, have unique personalities, and value their own lives, just as we do," said PETA India Manager of Vegan and Corporate Projects, Dr Kiran Ahuja. "Ahimsa—nonviolence—is a tenet of Hinduism. The best way to honour this value is by choosing vegan meals that spare animals' lives," added Ahuja.
"In today's meat, egg and dairy industries, huge numbers of animals are raised in vast warehouses in severe confinement. Goats and chickens have their throats slit while fully conscious, cows and buffaloes are separated from their calves, pigs are stabbed in the heart and fish are suffocated and cut open while still alive. Male chicks are commonly burned, drowned, crushed, fed live to fish, or killed in other cruel ways along with other unwanted chicks because they cannot lay eggs. Similarly, male calves, as they cannot produce milk, are separated from their mothers shortly after birth and are starved, abandoned or slaughtered for beef and leather. Many animals suffocate during overcrowded transport before those who survive are slaughtered in full view of one another," said an official from PETA.
Meanwhile, the launch of MalharCertification.com, a platform promoting the sale of certified mutton and chicken sourced exclusively from Hindu butchers from the Khatik community, has triggered a debate in the state. Launched by state fisheries and port development minister Nitish Rane, the initiative has been positioned as an alternative to Halal certification. While its proponents argue that the meat is hygienic and ethically sourced, critics see it as a politically motivated move aimed at countering the dominance of Halal-certified products in the Indian meat industry.
