Written by PETA
What was the best thing about 2011? It was a banner year for animals in India! Yes, with your support we won many victories. Here's a quick recap:
After years of extensive campaigning, we were able save millions of animals from being tortured each year in the name of science. All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) agreed to retire to sanctuaries many of the monkeys who were kept in tiny, cramped cages for many years and made significant improvements in the care of other animals at its central animal facility in New Delhi. In a groundbreaking decision, with your help and the pushing of progressive scientists, the University Grants Commission called for an end to animal dissection and animal experimentation for university and college zoology and life-sciences courses across India.
The year also brought relief for bulls who are kicked, punched, jumped on, dragged to the ground and otherwise tormented in the bloody "sport" of jallikattu. PETA’s efforts, your letters, e-mails and phone calls, in addition to Hema Malini's appeal, and the work of other caring groups together led to one of the biggest victories for bulls in India when the Ministry of Environment and Forests banned the use of bulls as performing animals. This law also makes any of kind of bull racing illegal now in India!
Our young animal rights brigade, PETA Youth, tabled at hundreds of colleges, gathering the support of countless passionate students from all across India and turning them into animal rights activists.
We made headlines in the media for our eye-catching demonstrations, animal rescues, celebrity ambassadors and innovative methods of animal rights activism.
There are far too many victories, both large and small, to list them all here, but there is one thing that remains constant through all our accomplishments: your support. Support our fight for animal rights by making a donation or joining our Activist Network.
We hope 2012 will be even better for animals!
Written by Kriti-S
Drum roll, please! Can you guess PETA's Person of the Year?
Here are some clues:
She has won countless hearts through her acting skills. Her magnificent dance performances have been appreciated by many classical gurus and dance lovers worldwide. In 2000, she was presented with the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award. Her contribution to Indian society has won her the honour of the Padma Shri Award.
Yes, we are talking about the eternal beauty Hema Malini. For repeatedly raising her voice to oppose cruelty to animals and for her staunch commitment to a humane vegetarian diet, veteran actor and politician Hema Malini has been named Person of the Year by PETA India.
Hemaji has used her prestige time and time again to speak up for all the voiceless animals whose abuse and oppression might otherwise go unnoticed.
Her efforts to bring about positive changes for animals in India include her heartfelt appeal this year to the Ministry of Environment and Forests on behalf of PETA India urging them to ban jallikattu. Soon after, the Ministry issued a notification in The Gazette of India stating that bulls can no longer be used as "performing" animals. This decision means an end to the cruel "sport" of jallikattu, in which terrified bulls are kicked, punched, jumped on, dragged to the ground and otherwise tormented.
The "Basanti" has also come forward to help horses by urging the city of Mumbai to ban horse-drawn carriages. In November, the Mumbai High Court issued a landmark decision cracking down on unlicensed stables housing horses used to pull carriages. This is expected to mean the end of the use of horse-drawn carriages on Mumbai roads.
A strict vegetarian, Hemaji is the embodiment of the kindness and determination to effect positive social change that PETA India stands for!
Congratulations, Hemaji! Thank you for being such a positive inspiration.
It turns out that the happy reunion of the elephant Marriapan with his mom was just the beginning of the good news. After years of campaigning by PETA India against keeping elephants in captivity, the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) banned the use of elephants in zoos in 2009. The CZA has since relocated 18 elephants from zoos throughout India to spacious forest sanctuaries, where they will be able to roam, receive professional veterinary care and enjoy the company of other elephants.
Some zoos, however, are attempting to dodge this directive by asking to be exempt from having to relocate elephants, including the Byculla Zoo in Mumbai, where an elephant frustrated by captivity killed a man last year.
Rahul Khanna and Celina Jaitly back PETA's call for the elephants' freedom.
Says Rahul, "At this time of Ganesh Chaturthi, as the whole nation gears up to celebrate an elephant god, I urge the CZA to now take steps to ensure all remaining elephants are moved to forest areas immediately, including those jailed at Byculla Zoo".
Brand-new bride Celina Jaitly says, "In Mumbai and other parts of India, elephants in captivity are kept in cruel conditions. It breaks my heart to see them separated from their families as babies and sentenced to a lifetime of boredom, loneliness and abuse. I applaud the CZA's decision that a zoo environment is wholly inadequate for elephants".
It is now your turn to urge the CZA to keep their commitment to send every elephant still held captive in Indian zoos to forest areas. Write to the CZA's Member Secretary, Mr BS Bonal, at cza@nic.in.
Great news from our colleagues at Animal Rahat! They not only stopped a bullock race in Maharashtra but also convinced the organisers to agree in writing to stop the races for good. This was no simple task: the team faced a mob of 5,000 people ready to participate in or watch the race. But with tact and persistence, they were able to spare the bulls from being forced to run.
Despite a recent ban on bullock racing, these cruel events are still being organised in rural areas. The bullocks are malnourished and thirsty and are routinely whipped and beaten. Cruel methods are used to keep them moving, like having pieces of barbed wire wedged underneath their harnesses. Ropes that are jammed through holes pierced in the bulls' nostrils are yanked and pulled so hard that the bulls' noses are often ripped open.
Don't let an "entertainment" event involving animals in your area go unchallenged. Contact the organisers to get it stopped, and contact us at Info@petaindia.org so that we can help.