Celebrate Hen-dependence Day: New PETA India Billboard Urges Citizens to Extend Freedom to Chickens

As India marks 79 years of independence, PETA India has installed striking billboards which read “Celebrate Hen-Dependence Day, Support the Revolution! Please, Go Vegan”, in Kolkata, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Mumbai, as a reminder that even chickens want to enjoy freedom—freedom from suffering. With ever-more Indians embracing vegan eating, the billboard welcomes a future where billions of chickens are spared being kept in crowded, filthy cages and sheds for their entire lives for foods that disagree with our good health and our humane ethic. The billboard aims to encourage members of the public to join the vegan revolution on Independence Day and every day. PETA India offers a free Vegan Starter Kit and other resources to help make kitchens “hen happy”.

The billboard in Bengaluru is located at Inder Nagar, Byappanahalli, Towards Silk Board, Sadanandanagar, Bennigana Halli, Bengaluru, Karnataka, 560038

The billboard in Delhi is located at Palam Marg, Sonia Gandhi Camp, Sector 6, Rama Krishna Puram, Vasant Vihar, Outer Ring Road, New Delhi, 110022

The billboard in Chennai is located at Women’s Christian College, College Road, Subba Road Avenue, Nungambakkam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu – 600006

The billboard in Kolkata is located near the Kolkata Co-operative Housing Society, 36/C, Ballygunge Circular Road, Ballygunge Phari Junction, Facing Park Circus, Kolkata, West Bengal 700019.

The billboard in Mumbai is located at Swami Vivekananda Road, Santosh Nagar, towards Bandra Linking Road, Bandra West, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400050.

India is internationally admired for its dietary ethic, with a Statista Consumer Insights survey revealing that India leads the world in following a meat-free diet, with 9% of Indians now identifying as vegan (wholly plant-focused).

Hens are intelligent animals whose cognitive abilities are comparable to those of cats, dogs, and even some primates. Yet, in the egg industry, hens are typically confined by the thousands into filthy wire cages so small they cannot even spread a single wing. Instead of giving the birds more space, farmers cut off their sensitive beaks to prevent them from pecking each other out of frustration from the intense confinement. After roughly two years, when their egg production declines, they are considered “spent,” thrown into trucks just like chickens who were raised for meat in overcrowded sheds, and sent to slaughter, where many have their throats cut while still conscious. Meanwhile, millions of newly hatched male chicks—deemed worthless because they cannot lay eggs—and other unwanted chicks are ground up alive, crushed, drowned, burned, or killed by other gruesome methods.

Everyone who goes vegan spares nearly 200 animals every year, dramatically reduces their carbon footprint, and lowers their risk of heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers. Vegan foods are also protein powerhouses. One large egg contains about 6 grams of protein, while one cup of cooked chickpeas contains approximately 14.5 grams, one cup of boiled lentils 17.9 grams, and half a cup of firm tofu nearly 20 grams.