AMISHA PATEL DECRIES ZOOS AS ‘PITIFUL PRISONS’ IN NEW PETA AD

For Immediate Release:
08 September 2004

Contact:
Bijal Vachharajani (0) 98201 220602 BijalV@PETAIndia.org

AMISHA PATEL DECRIES ZOOS AS ‘PITIFUL PRISONS’ IN NEW PETA AD
Bollywood Star Poses as Terrified ‘Prisoner’ in ‘Jail Cell’ to Spotlight Wretched Conditions for Animals in Nation’s Zoos

Mumbai – Crouched and cowering in a barren, concrete “cell” next to the tagline “Zoos Are Pitiful Prisons – Let Animals Live Free!” celebrated actor Amisha Patel, who shot to fame opposite Hrithik Roshan in Kaho Na Pyar Hai and won critical praise for her role in Gadar: Ek Prem Katha, appears in a new ad for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) that focuses attention on the sad plight of animals in zoos. Ace photographer Ashok Salian and acclaimed dress designer Anna Singh generously donated their services for the ad.

“George Washington, Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi … we had them. Animals don’t; they need us. Let’s fight for their freedom”, says Amisha. “Animals in zoos are robbed of their most precious possessions – dignity, freedom and independence.” 

This isn’t the first time that PETA’s campaign to reform the country’s zoos has received high-profile support from famous celebrities. In 2002, model-turned-actor Rahul Dev posed for PETA’s “Imprisoned Cheetah” ad, wearing little more than body-painted spots, and in February 2004, world-renowned sitarist Anoushka Shankar performed exclusively for PETA to raise awareness for animals in zoos.

Hundreds of thousands of animals languish in zoos across India and throughout the world. Because these animals are denied everything that is natural to them, they express their frustration and loneliness through obsessive, repetitive – even self-destructive – behaviours. Zoochosis, as this disorder is known, can entail head-bobbing, endless swaying, unprovoked aggressiveness, self-biting and hair-pulling and other behaviours never displayed in free-roaming populations. Some animals in zoos walk in circles, retracing their steps until the concrete floors of their cages become visibly worn. Animals in India’s 165 zoos die at an exceedingly high rate, years – and in some cases, decades – short of their natural life expectancies.

Since the best way to save animals is by conserving their habitats, PETA realises that zoos are nothing but pitiful prisons. However, thousands of animals continue to languish in zoos across the country. So PETA has a two-pronged strategy – on the one hand, to educate people about the cruelty behind zoos, and on the other hand, to actually work with the zoo authorities to ensure that animals in zoos are getting at least their basic rights. PETA’s pilot project in the campaign is the Veermata Udyan Zoo in Mumbai, where, after a tempestuous four-year relationship, the group has improved conditions dramatically:

• Elephants are no longer chained continuously, and the water pool is finally full.
• The same monkeys who appeared listless just a year ago now clamber in their new hut-type machan, forage for hidden treats and swing from a hammock.
• Lions and tigers are more closely monitored in their enclosures and receive better care when they need medical attention.
• The Himalayan black bear’s previously unsanitary moat is now kept clean.
• Security personnel now fine visitors who illegally feed animals.

With the help of the Central Zoo Authority, PETA has moved seven lions and two bears from the derecognised Pratap Sinhav Udyan Zoo at Sangli to rehabilitation centres across India.

“As soon as we rectify an atrocious situation at one zoo, we discover something just as intolerable at another”, says PETA India Chief Functionary Anuradha Sawhney. “The best way for compassionate people to help is by boycotting zoos and other attractions that exploit animals.”

[The ad is being released in nine languages, and all versions are available for downloading at PETA’s Web site www.PETAIndia.com. A copy of the ad follows.]