What About Eid?
PETA India is a vegan advocacy organisation that takes action for animals every day of the year. Our motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat or wear”. By encouraging vegan living, we help stop the slaughter of sentient beings for any purpose. Vegans don’t eat meat or any other foods derived from animals, because, for example, the beef industry is able to exist largely because the dairy industry supplies it with animals to kill.
Many Muslim vegetarians and vegans celebrate Eid without slaughtering animals, as shown in the video below, and we encourage everyone else to do the same.
Our work doesn’t stop with persuading those who celebrate Eid to switch to giving alms of fruit or vegetables, because every person who consumes animals’ flesh or anything else stolen from them, including milk and eggs, or wears their skin is responsible for their suffering and death.
Unfortunately, our campaigners have been beaten up and worse for peacefully encouraging a humane celebration of Eid that doesn’t involve animal sacrifice. Our mere suggestion of giving alms without slaughter has resulted in death threats towards us. However, this has not deterred us from working to prevent goats, camels, and others from being sacrificed and from continuing our advocacy for all animals.
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Our staff members have faced similar abuse and have received death threats from jallikattu supporters, but we remain determined to stop the cruelty endured by bulls used in that practice, too. Since the Tamil Nadu government allowed jallikattu in 2017 through June 2023, at least 115 humans, 38 bulls, and a cow have reportedly died in the events and 8,630 humans and at least 30 bulls have reportedly been injured. Since many bull deaths and human injuries are not reported, these figures are likely vast underestimates.
Courts uphold India’s laws but don’t create them, so between 2004 and 2017, PETA India was part of a Supreme Court of India case opposing the illegal treatment of animals during transport, which is common, including during animal sacrifice, and slaughter, which we have extensively documented. This resulted in the 17 February 2017 order of the Supreme Court stating that the compendium of acts and rules prepared by the government of India must be complied with by state governments and union territories. We regret that, like many other laws, these remain largely unenforced.
We have also called on states to shut down illegal slaughterhouses. Under Indian law, licensed slaughterhouses are permitted to exist – but we hope one day they won’t be. Caring people can help us work towards that goal by not supporting industries that supply animals for slaughter – such as the dairy industry – and by not buying the “products” that come from slaughter, such as leather.
PETA India’s 2019 exposé in the lead up to Eid of the market adjacent to Mumbai’s Deonar slaughterhouse revealed what happens when transport laws are not enforced. Then, it was reported that more than 1.24 lakhs goats and sheep and about 2,700 buffaloes had arrived at Deonar from Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and even as far away as Assam to be sold for sacrifice. Our documentation, which we publicised widely, shows dead and dying animals strewn across the premises after being transported in cruel conditions. As mandated by the 2017 order of the Supreme Court of India, laws regarding animal transport and slaughter form part of the compendium of acts and rules that must be complied with.
Each year, PETA India writes to state and union territory authorities before Eid asking them to enforce animal protection laws as guided by the Animal Welfare Board of India.
We also work to empower the public to take action against animal sacrifice, to observe holidays without it by highlighting those who observe Eid in other ways – a group that is growing – and to choose vegan options when breaking fasts, including at Ramadan and other holidays. Chefs Sadaf Hussain, Rubaina Ali Khan, Tehseen Mehdi Dudani, and Muskaan Hassan have shared mouth-watering recipes such as soya shammi kebab, jackfruit biryani, keema pao, kofte ka saalan, and vegan firni for everyone to try.
Along with taking other conversation-generating actions, we’ve held our own Eid celebration, in which goats were the guests of honour. In 2020, we joined hands with vegan actor Sadaa Sayed to distribute vegan biryani at Mumbai orphanages for Eid.
Similarly, in 2023 during the lead-up to Eid, actor Fatima Sana Shaikh donated delicious, healthy vegan biryani made with Good Dot Pro Chaap along with Alt Foods plant-based chocolate milk, which we and Little India Foundation distributed to 1000 people in need in Delhi.
PETA India is thankful to @fattysanashaikh for spreading kindness and good health to people in need.
With her generous donation, PETA India joined hands with #LittleIndiaFoundation to dish up tasty & healthy #vegan biryani, made with @gooddotofficial Pro Chaap & served with… pic.twitter.com/AxONmwPlxV
— PETA India (@PetaIndia) June 27, 2023
PETA India has also placed billboards in numerous cities featuring a goat proclaiming, “I’m ME, Not Mutton. See the Individual. Go Vegan.” Goats are intelligent, playful, curious, and trusting, yet they’re often painfully lifted onto vehicles by their ears or skin for transport, they’re crammed together in such high numbers that many suffocate and die, and survivors are killed in full view of one another. During Eid, these animals are butchered on the street.
PETA India is also asking concerned officials to delete Section 28 of The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 – which allows any animal to be killed in any manner for religious purposes. The central government is currently in the process of amending the Act, and in April 2021, we submitted our recommendations – including a ban on animal sacrifice – to the Animal Welfare Board of India.
We took to Twitter, too, with a #DeleteSection28 hashtag, and encouraged the public to sign our petition to help stop animal sacrifice.
Change starts with you!
Help us amend the law to end animal sacrifice by signing our petition here: https://t.co/Hfl5Ft7RuF#DeleteSection28 pic.twitter.com/NlXO3zr7N8
— PETA India (@PetaIndia) July 15, 2021
Also in 2021, PETA India conducted an investigation that revealed that numerous temporary, illegal, and crowded goat markets had mushroomed up all across Mumbai in violation of the Maharashtra government circular regarding the celebration of Eid al-Adha. Following this report, letters were fired off to various authorities and we submitted complaints at local police stations to register a first information report against the illegal markets’ organisers and goat sellers.
Our Instagram live chats with Muslim vegans and animal rights activists are always a hit. During the sessions, vegan Muslims shared how they apply the compassionate teachings of Islam to their vegan and animal rights advocacy.
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AnimalsInIslam.com is an excellent resource that PETA US created in order to help Muslims connect with others in their own community who don’t engage in sacrifice and who want to encourage kindness to animals in their communities through Islamic teachings on compassion.
PETA India doesn’t have a magic wand, but our emergency response team is on call 24/7, including during Eid, fielding calls about egregious cruelty and taking action against it whenever possible.
We ask those who speak up for animals during Eid to support us the rest of the year, too, when we’re working to save animals’ lives. We need you, so please, help us every day.
Here’s what you can do to stop animal sacrifice
