With Dogs, Pigeons, Wildlife & Other Species Under Increasing Attack, PETA India Launches ‘Let Jivdaya Guide Us’ Campaign with Full Page Newspaper Cover

Today, PETA India expended considerable resources to remind the nation of our deep roots in ahimsa (non-violence), launching our ‘Let Jivdaya Guide Us’ campaign with a striking full-page newspaper cover featured in the Sunday Times of India in its Delhi (National Capital Region) NCR and Mumbai editions, and on the cover of Mumbai Mirror, carrying the message of eternal truth: ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – The world is one family.’

PETA India has grown increasingly concerned—as has everyone who cares for  beloved community dogs and pigeons, who work to free elephants from chains, and who value protections for wild monkeys and other animals who live in the forests—about a Supreme Court decision declaring it illegal to feed community dogs in Delhi other than in places authorized by municipal authorities; the Bombay High Court banning pigeon feeding, allowing these gentle, dependent birds to starve; and the removal of protections that rhesus macaques were afforded for over fifty years through the passage of the Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2022, so that they can be captured for use in experiments.

The print campaign – which reads, ‘When we honour jivdaya, we honour the soul of India’ –urges readers to be true to our national edict and extend compassion to all beings. It points out how far today’s reality for animals has drifted from the values of kindness and respect for life that India has always been known and admired for holding dear—a value it gifted to the world through the influence of ahimsa and vegetarianism as far back as 4^th century BCE. (The Brokpa tribe of Ladakh are reported to have been vegan thousands of years ago, making them the original vegans. Vegans are vegetarians who do not consume dairy or any other animal derived foods.)

It further reads:

• Pigeons go hungry where once they were fed.
• Sensitive dogs are abused on the streets they call home.
• Elephants sway in chains instead of walking free.
• Cows are killed for leather when they should be protected.
• Rhesus macaques are stolen from forests and used in experiments.

The print campaign concludes with a reminder: ‘Let us remember: compassion is not only our history – it is our current moral duty. Let the kindness that is India’s soul lead us forward. It costs nothing to be kind.’

PETA India, which campaigns against violence to bulls and the killing of humans during jallikattu every year, calls on policymakers, the country’s courts and citizens to reflect on these values of kindness and act to prevent cruelty to animals, whether by helping animals in their communities, strengthening and enforcing laws to protect them, or going vegan.

You can help.