Young, Loud, and Unstoppable: PETA Youth’s Year of Action for Animals
PETA Youth—PETA India’s teen and young adult division—made 2025 a year of bold ideas, immersive experiences, and powerful conversations for animals. From cutting-edge virtual reality to vibrant college festivals and youth-led compassion campaigns, PETA Youth reached young minds across the country, challenging speciesism, exposing cruelty, and inspiring kinder choices.
In 2025, PETA Youth reached more than 6,000 students through 30 dynamic outreach programmes across India—sparking empathy, challenging animal abuse, encouraging compassionate action, and proving that the next generation is ready to stand up for animals.
While experiencing our unique virtual reality zones or embracing a compassionate lifestyle, these young students grabbed informative posters, leaflets, and free merchandise such as stickers, badges, wristbands, and fridge magnets. They also checked out and ordered PETA India’s director Poorva Joshipura’s latest book ‘Survival At Stake’. They also signed petitions calling for stronger penalties against animal abuse and an end to animal experimentation, while interacting with us.
Here’s a look back at some of the moments that defined PETA Youth’s journey in 2025:
‘When They Came for Us’: A New Virtual Reality Experience
At Comic Con Mumbai, the Vegan India Conference, IIT Delhi’s Rendezvous, TEDx AIIMS Kalyani, and more, PETA Youth unveiled its groundbreaking immersive virtual reality experience ‘When They Came for Us’. Participants were “abducted” by aliens who viewed humans as inferior, to confront speciesism. It uses groundbreaking OpenAI technology to enable spoken conversations with the aliens, who respond uniquely to each user, making every experience different. Powered by interactive, AI-driven dialogue, the experience left visitors shaken, reflective, and motivated to help animals.
Challenging Animal Experiments at Youth Festivals via Virtual Reality Experience
At Jagruk Fest in Jaipur and Festember at NIT Trichy, PETA Youth brought another groundbreaking virtual reality experience, “Abduction,” to let students learn what happens to animals for experiments and why animal testing practices are outdated, and must be replaced with human-relevant science as recommended by PETA India in its Research Modernisation Deal.
Ending Speciesism
At Waves by BITS Pilani Goa, IIT Guwahati’s ‘Alcheringa’, and St Xavier’s College Kolkata’s ‘Xavotsav’, PETA Youth’s End Speciesism campaign invited students to reflect on oppression in all its forms. Through interactive games, striking visuals, informational leaflets, and photo opportunities, young people were encouraged to reject the idea that one species’ life matters more than another’s—and to speak up for animals.
Save the Boy Child: Exposing Hidden Cruelty of Dairy and Meat Industries
At Pyrexia by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, Shri Ram College of Commerce’s (SRCC) ‘Crossroads’ and NIT Trichy’s ‘Prakruti Fest’, PETA Youth spotlighted the suffering of male chicks and calves discarded by the egg and dairy industries. Through a short video exposing how these animals—deemed “worthless” for not producing eggs or milk—are discarded and killed, along with leaflets and conversations, students learned the truth behind these industries. Visitors also enjoyed vegan chocolate cookies from FIG – The Bakery and were encouraged to consider trying a vegan lifestyle.
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Embracing ‘Compassion Is Magical’ Movement
Ahead of Friendship Day, PETA Youth transformed Rizvi College, Mumbai, into a whimsical space where kindness took centre stage. The ‘Compassion Is Magical’ stall blended fun visuals with meaningful conversations about vegan lifestyle and animal liberation—complete with vegan treats, badges, wristbands, and themed leaflets, as well as an Instagram-worthy photo booth. PETA Youth engaged with students, answered questions, and shared ways to get involved in animal welfare and rights.
‘Hug a Vegan Day’ Spreads Kindness
At Narsee Monjee College, PETA Youth celebrated ‘Hug a Vegan Day’ with free hugs from a chick mascot. Students posed with placards and posters, enjoyed vegan treats, and scanned a QR code to sign the Vegan Pledge—showing that compassion can be joyful, welcoming, and contagious.
From signing petitions and pledging to go vegan to standing up for stronger animal protection laws and humane science, young changemakers stepped up for animals in powerful ways.
Ready to be part of the movement?
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