Celebrities Champion Animal Liberation with PETA India in 2025

Posted on January 5, 2026 at 4:11 pm by Shreya Manocha

Across industries, India’s most influential celebrities stepped forward to support PETA India’s efforts by exposing cruelty, promoting kindness, and driving change for animals. Here’s a look at their meaningful contributions:

John Abraham and Adivi Sesh Speak Up for Animals Trapped at Palamur Biosciences Laboratory
After learning of PETA India’s whistleblower-led exposé that showed dogs crammed in cages, many with wounds, pigs being poisoned and left to bleed, and wild-caught monkeys exploited for experimentation in Palamur Biosciences, actors John Abraham and Adivi Sesh wrote letters urging the cabinet minister to immediately rescue the beagles and other animals trapped inside the facility.

Celebrities Support the ‘Gigantic’ Lifelike Mechanical Elephants Campaign
Through PETA India’s mechanical elephants campaign, temples across Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra have adopted technological, animal-free alternatives that preserve tradition while safeguarding elephants’ freedom and wellbeing. Celebrated icons from cinema, music and sports have been a part of this progressive initiative, including Hema Malini, Shreya Ghoshal, KL Rahul, Raveena Tandon, Jackie Shroff, Parvati Nair, Suniel Shetty, Anoushka Shankar, Rukmini Vasanth and Shikhar Dhawan.

Priyamani Brings Animal-Free Joy to Children
Actor Priyamani partnered with PETA India to treat over 100 children from Sivananda Saraswathi Sevashram to an animal-free Gemini Circus performance, highlighting compassionate entertainment that avoids animal exploitation.

Zahrah S Khan Promotes Compassionate Giving for Eid al-Adha
Ahead of Eid al-Adha, vegan singer and actor Zahrah S Khan joined PETA India to distribute vegan soya biryani to 1,000 people in Hyderabad, proving that kindness, tradition, and delicious food can coexist without animal suffering.

John Abraham Named PETA India’s First Honorary Director
At PETA India’s 25th anniversary, John Abraham was honoured for decades of animal advocacy and for playing a pivotal role in advancing animal protection from urging Quikr to halt the sale of live animals to calling for bans on animal acts in circuses and speaking out against the exploitation of elephants used for tourism, donating his Kaun Banega Crorepati winnings to help animals via PETA India and adopting a community dog named Bailey. Abraham was previously named PETA India’s Person of the Year in 2020.

Filmmakers Pledge Elephant-Free Content
22 leading filmmakers, including John Abraham, R Balki, Daggubati Suresh Babu, Farah Khan, Dia Mirza, Nikkhil Advani, Pooja Bhatt, and others, signed PETA India’s Elephant Freedom Pledge, committed to using computer-generated imagery (CGI), visual effects, and innovative mechanical elephants, leaving elephants out of their productions.

Ayaan Sood Receives Compassionate Youth Award
Seventeen-year-old Ayaan Sood, actor Sonu Sood’s son, was recognised by PETA India for his dedication to helping community animals and inspiring young people nationwide to lead with empathy.

Raveena Tandon is PETA India’s 2025 Person of the Year
For her fierce compassion, meat-free living, and unstoppable advocacy for wildlife and community animals, PETA India proudly named Raveena Tandon our 2025 Person of the Year. 

Sreeleela & Ravichandran Ashwin: PETA India’s Most Beautiful Vegetarian Celebrities of 2025
Actor Sreeleela and cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin are PETA India’s most beautiful vegetarians of 2025 for leading the way in animal rights by adopting a meat-free lifestyle and promoting compassion towards animals, including dogs, goats, cows, monkeys, and more.

Shalini Pandey Champions Adoption
Actor Shalini Pandey teamed up with PETA India to encourage adoption over buying, appearing alongside a sweet desi dog, from World for All, with the advice to begin a lifelong friendship by adopting an animal from a shelter.

Fashion Goes Feather-Free with Indian Designers
Over 50 top Indian designers such as Anita Dongre, Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla, Gaurav Gupta, Shyamal & Bhumika, Rina Dhaka, Jade by Monica and Karishma, Krésha Bajaj, and others pledged to eliminate feathers from their designs after a joint appeal by Stella McCartney and PETA India marking a major shift towards compassionate and ethical fashion.

Compassionate Fashion Takes Centre Stage
From Jacqueline Fernandez’s faux-fur look winning Best Fashion Moment for the song ‘Money Money’ in Raid 2 to actor and filmmaker Riteish Deshmukh receiving the Best Vegan Style Icon award for promoting vegan living through his fashion choices and plant-based brand, Imagine Meats, Jasprit Bumrah-backed Uppercase winning Best Vegan Travel Gear and LoveChild Masaba by Masaba Gupta awarded Best Vegan Makeup, PETA India’s 2025 Vegan Fashion Awards spotlighted how cruelty-free fashion is becoming mainstream, recognising individuals and brands that are redefining style with ethics at the forefront.

Honouring Kind Food Innovations
As vegan food continues to gain popularity, PETA India’s 2025 Vegan Food Awards recognised brands making compassionate eating easier and more accessible. Winners included Ranveer Singh’s SuperYou Pro Fermented Yeast Protein Cold Coffee, for Best Vegan Protein, and Hrithik Roshan’s HRX by EatFit High Protein Veg Momos, highlighting the growing appeal of protein-forward, vegan options.

Throughout 2025, celebrities from diverse fields joined forces with PETA India to make the world a kinder place for animals. Collaboration and support remain essential in building a more compassionate future for all animals. Help us transform awareness into action.

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