Turning Streets into Statements: How PETA India’s Demonstrations Challenged Cruelty to Animals in 2025
In 2025, PETA India once again took advocacy to the streets—using bold visuals, compelling messages, and peaceful protests to expose cruelty to animals, and urge compassion for them. Across cities and causes, these demonstrations confronted exploitation head-on and reminded the public that animals are not commodities, props, or products.
Here’s a look at the demonstrations that defined PETA India’s 2025:
‘Chained & Bloodied’ Elephants Protest Elephant Joyrides
Dozens of PETA India and Go Sharpener supporters, wearing elephant masks and chains, stood at Jantar Mantar on International Animal Rights Day (10 December), with blood-red palms, to protest elephant rides at Amer Fort, as well as at Rajaji Tiger Reserve and Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand, which have resumed elephant rides after a seven-year hiatus. The powerful imagery exposed the daily violence endured by elephants forced into ‘entertainment’ and demanded a ban on elephant rides.
Say No to Elephant Rides—Protect Elephants Now
National Day of Action for Community Dogs and Cattle
In Mumbai, Kolkata, and Goa, schoolchildren and PETA India supporters stood up against a Supreme Court directive ordering the rounding up of cows and buffaloes from highways and community dogs from colleges, bus stops, and more. To demonstrate that community dogs are loved and belong in their neighbourhoods, children tied bright “Save Desi Dogs” bandanas on local dogs, while PETA India offered plant milk to passersby.
Pledge to Sterilise Community Animals
‘Bloodied Beagles’ Demand Freedom for Captive Lab Animals At Palamur Biosciences
In Hyderabad, PETA India supporters from Glendale International School, Vegans of Telangana, and Deven’s Hope Society raised blood-smeared hands and wore beagle masks to demand the rescue of over 1,200 animals trapped and abused inside Palamur Biosciences laboratory. The demonstration followed a whistleblower exposé revealing shocking cruelty—and called out continued inaction despite official recommendations.
Help Save Animals Suffering at Palamur Biosciences
The message was sent loud and clear to Mumbai people when five PETA India supporters, outside Flora Fountain, in pigeon masks and dressed as quintessential Mumbaikars—ranging from auto driver, to Bollywood fan, to woman in Navari saree, office goer and man in a kurta and dhoti appealed for kindness after feeding bans and the closure of kabutarkhanas by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The protest reminded the city that pigeons are community members—not pests to be starved.
In Delhi, PETA India recreated lab cruelty that dogs, monkeys, and other animals experience at Telangana-based Palamur Biosciences by subjecting its director, Poorva Joshipura, to a restraint chair and forcing her to undergo the same cruel procedures that real animals are subjected to in laboratories. The shocking act demanded immediate rescue for animals trapped at Palamur Biosciences. PETA India aimed to urge the Committee for the Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CCSEA) to facilitate the rescue of the 1200+ beagles, monkeys, cows, pigs, and other animals at Palamur Biosciences.
Body Painted as Earth, PETA India Supporters Speak Up for Climate Catastrophe in Raipur
Ahead of World Environment Day, PETA India and Vegans of Chhattisgarh (VOC) supporters – a man and a woman painted as the Earth urged passers-by to fight climate catastrophe with a diet change. The duo encouraged Raipur residents to protect the environment by opting for delicious vegan meals.
Giant ‘Human Fish’ Relating to a Fish’s Fate
In Bangalore, during the World Week for the Abolition of Meat (last week of January), Jamie Logan, a US-based social media influencer and PETA India supporter, posed as a giant “human fish” and lay on the street between two “fish” props, urging people to recognise fish as feeling beings—not just food.
‘Hanging’ PETA India’s Director Poorva Joshipura as Animal Carcasses
Marking PETA India’s 25 years of animal liberation, a harrowing demo at Jantar Mantar had PETA India Director Poorva Joshipura hung from a hook, clad in a skin-coloured bodysuit smeared with “blood,” alongside the carcasses of a “pig” and “goat” to show what slaughter truly looks like—reminding everyone that no living being deserves to be killed and carved up to satisfy someone’s fleeting taste.
Choose Compassion And Go Vegan
PETA India Founder ‘Skinned Alive’ to Expose Leather’s Cruel Reality
Shoppers and passersby in Mumbai witnessed a shocking protest as PETA India founder Ingrid Newkirk was gruesomely “skinned alive” to expose the cruelty behind leather shoes, bags etc. The powerful demo urged public to relate to animals’ suffering and reject leather as a fashion accessory.
Supporters in Biohazard Suits Protest Toxic Tanneries in Leather Industry in Kolkata
In the wake of the tragic deaths of three sanitation workers at the Kolkata Leather Complex, reportedly after exposure to the toxic waste generated by the leather industry, three PETA India supporters in full-body biohazard suits staged a striking protest in Kolkata. The protesters drew attention to the industry’s lethal toll on humans, animals, and the planet and urged consumers to ditch deadly leather and choose vegan fashions instead.
Grim Reapers Sentence Leather to Death in Kochi
For Halloween, A trio of PETA India supporters dressed in Grim Reaper costumes rose from the underworld in Kochi, dragging leather boots, bags, belts, and jackets by a chain and urging shoppers to opt for cruelty-free vegan clothes and accessories.
Giant Inflatable Babies Challenge the Dairy Myth in Bhopal
During World Breastfeeding Week (1 to 7 August) in Bhopal, a pair of supporters from PETA India and Animals With Humanity wearing towering infant costumes delivered a powerful reminder: “Milk Is for Babies! Dump Dairy.” And handed out packets of vegan ice-cold mylk to remind the public that the mothers of all mammal species – cows and humans included – produce milk for their babies and that nobody requires any milk after the age of weaning.
Every demonstration carried one clear truth: animals feel pain, fear, and joy—and they deserve to live freely in their natural habitat with their families. Change begins when you speak up, show up, and refuse to look away from the abuse inflicted upon animals.
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