Caged PETA 'Monkey' Cites AIIMS 'Terrorism'

For Immediate Release:

24 November 2009

Contact:

Nikunj Sharma (0) 9967766220; NikunjS@petaindia.org

New Delhi -- To mark the anniversary of last year's November 26 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, PETA members body-painted as monkeys will sit in cages outside Jantar Mantar holding a sign that reads, "AIIMS -- Stop Terrorising Animals":

            Date:   Wednesday, 25 November

            Time:   12 noon to 1 pm

            Place:  Outside Jantar Mantar, New Delhi

"If the definition of a terrorist is 'one who inspires terror in others', then as far as animals are concerned, workers at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences' (AIIMS) central animal house are truly terrorists", says PETA India's Nikunj Sharma.

AIIMS' central animal house imprisons monkeys, rabbits, sheep, guinea pigs and rats, some of whom have been in captivity for more than 20 years. More than half of the 90 rabbits at the facility suffer from an infectious skin disease, and several animals have gone blind. Confined to tiny cages, many animals exhibit repetitive behaviour indicative of psychological problems. Employees have been filmed teasing and otherwise mistreating animals.

PETA's numerous letters calling on government and regulatory agencies to remove and rehabilitate the animals have been largely ignored. The organisation is now asking the public to write to the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals to request that the animals' be rehabilitated.

For more information, please visit PETAIndia.com/aiims.

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