TVK Leader and Actor Vijay Urged to Stop Using Animals in Election Campaigning and to Hand Over Remaining Birds by PETA India After Painting and Release Stunt

For Immediate Release:

24 April 2026

Contact:

Sanskriti Bansore; [email protected]

Vikram Chandravanshi; [email protected]

Chennai — Following recent media reports and the circulation of video that show birds which resemble white doves being handled, painted in party colours, and released as part of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) election campaign stunts, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals India (PETA India) has written to actor and  TVK leader Shri C Joseph Vijay, urging immediate corrective action. 

A copy of the letter is available upon request.

In its letter, PETA India notes that the Election Commission of India’s advisory dated 19 September 2012 expressly directs political parties and candidates to refrain from using animals for election campaigns in any manner and reminds them to comply with animal-protection laws and the Model Code of Conduct.

“Animals claim no political side and their wellbeing often depends on our compassion and mercy,” say Vikram Chandravanshi, Senior Policy and Legal Advisor, PETA India. “Using live birds for painting and use in campaigns as props can leave them terrified, injured, sick, or worse.”

Doves are highly sensitive birds, and subjecting them to handling, painting, confinement, and release in noisy, crowded environments can cause severe stress, injury, and long-term harm, as well as through potential exposure to toxic substances. PETA India also highlighted that such acts are prohibited under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, including the statutory duty to ensure that animals are not subjected to unnecessary pain or suffering.

PETA India has asked TVK leader Vijay to ensure any remaining birds in his possession are immediately relinquished to PETA India for appropriate care and rehabilitation, as well as to adopt a clear party policy against any animal use.

PETA India—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment or abuse in any other way”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information about PETA India, please visit PETAIndia.com or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

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