Group Touts Major Victory, Star-Studded Ad Campaigns
For Immediate Release:
22 August 2002
Contact:
Anuradha Sawhney (O) 98201 22602; AnuradhaS@peta.org
Mumbai — Following an investigation by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ (PETA) chief functionary, Anuradha Sawhney, and with help from Maneka Gandhi, the lions and tigers kept in squalid conditions by the Grand National Circus are now living in a spacious, clean sanctuary. It was not an easy job persuading Wildlife Department officials to take action, but in the end, perseverance paid off. Unfortunately, the two elephants, 14 dogs, birds, sheep and other animals living in equally deplorable conditions remain with the circus. What can concerned members of the public do about such suffering? The best way to begin is to pick up the Autumn 2002 issue of PETA’s Animal Times.
In the new issue, readers will learn why producer Sundeep Sikand is donating a portion of the proceeds from his current play Champaign on the House to PETA in order to further the organisation’s work in behalf of animals: ‘… a cause like this will ensure that laughter is spread and that we reach out and help a worthy social cause’, says Sikand.
Also find out why megastar Madhavan crouched in a tiny cage for a People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) photo shoot and to read a story about a rat who was dumped at an animal shelter and wound up winning everyone’s heart with his nonstop antics.
Readers can catch up on who’s cool and who’s cruel in the ‘Purrs & Grrrs’ column:
- Pune Municipality rates a ‘grrr’ for poisoning stray dogs in violation of India’s Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
- ‘Purrs’ are in order for Star Wars creator George Lucas, who thoughtfully offered soya turkey-style roasts as holiday gifts to employees who found the usual gift of a dead bird a little hard to swallow.
For questions about nutrition and health, there’s the ‘Doctor
in the House’ column, featuring Neal
Barnard, MD, president of the US-based Physicians Committee for
Responsible Medicine. In the new issue, Dr. Barnard answers a writer’s
enquiry regarding athletes and vegetarianism. After explaining that
there’s nothing better than a strict vegetarian diet to meet the
body’s demands from hard training and that meat consumption places
undue strain on the heart, Dr Barnard says, ‘A healthy vegan diet
will give you the health and stamina to leave those sluggish meat-eaters
in the dust.‘
And just in are the winners of PETA’s 2002 ‘Hottest Vegetarian Alive’ contest. They are acting legend Amitabh Bachchan, who beat out Gladiator star Joaquin Phoenix, top model John Abraham, heartthrob R. Madhavan and Bollywood newcomer Esha Deol, who triumphed over beauties from around the world, including her own mother, Hema Malini!
Madhavan is excited about the impending release of his new film Dil Vil Pyar Wyar, but his real passion is respect for all life and his commitment to a vegetarian lifestyle. ‘It’s simple—I love animals, so I do not eat them’, says Madhavan, who posed crouched in a cage and looking desperate in a new PETA ad to spotlight the misery of everyday life for animals on India’s growing number of factory farms.
Readers will be pleased to learn that, thanks to PETA India’s chief functionary Anuradha Sawhney and the laboratory oversight committee she sits on, 37 monkeys and two goats were seized from the government-run National Institute of Virology in Pune, which was keeping the primates in filthy, hot, barren cages, where many were suffering from deformities, crippling arthritis and captivity-induced psychosis.
PETA India’s Animal Times also lets readers know how they can get involved in helping animals all over India. All they have to do is look for the ‘You Can Help’ segment at the end of articles, which instructs them on what to do when they spot animal abuse and tells whom to call to make a complaint or, in some instances, whom to thank and provides addresses and telephone numbers to help contact them.
PETA’s Animal Times is not copyrighted, and full or partial reprints are encouraged. For high-quality copies of any of the images, contact PETA.
For more information, please visit www.PETAIndia.com.
