Celebrating PETA India’s 25th Birthday and Victories for Animals

Twenty five years ago, PETA India was founded on the simple principle that animals are not ours to experiment on, eat, wear, use for entertainment, or abuse in any other way. Our staff, members, and supporters are dedicated to improving life for animals who bear the brunt of human greed, callousness and indifference. We‘ve been extremely busy, and there is a mountain of work still to be done, but we are turning the tide. Society is beginning to recognise crucial issues, seeing animals are intelligent, sensitive beings who deserve our respect and understanding. Here are just some of PETA India‘s victories from the last 25 years to illustrate that progress: 

Animals Aren't Ours to Eat

• We promoted healthy, animal-, and eco-friendly vegan food by sharing recipes, erecting billboards, offering free vegetarian/vegan starter kits, and distributing samples at demonstrations, festivals, and other events to tens of thousands of people
• We conducted a groundbreaking investigations of the meat, egg, and dairy industries – including at Mumbai’s Deonar slaughterhouse – revealing systemic abuse, unhygienic and inhumane conditions, and apparent violations of animal protection laws. 
• We created the first-ever landmark video exposé of the Indian meat, egg, and dairy industries, “Glass Walls“, narrated by R Madhavan. 
• We joined part of a Supreme Court case against the common illegal treatment of animals during transport and slaughter. In addition to ordering a crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses, the court called on states to set up enforcement committees to monitor the treatment of animals used for meat and leather. 
• We rescued seven camels from slaughter  for Eid al-Adha with help from government officials and local activists. Following our appeal, Mizoram and Telangana police enforced state law prohibiting animal sacrifices ahead of Eid al-Adha. After PETA India’s plea, Manipur Police took action to stop the illegal transport and killing of animals for Eid al-Adha 
• We worked with Shillong police and locals to rescue dogs from slaughter.  
• We rescued 150 chicks from being buried alive in Jalgaon, and, following our appeals, Goa, Assam, Gujarat, Jammu, Bihar, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh took steps to end the illegal and cruel killing of male and other unwanted chicks by the poultry industry. 
• After appeals from PETA India to prohibit the manufacture, sale, and use of gestation and farrowing crates in pig farming, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Chandigarh, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, Tripura, Manipur, Mizoram, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Sikkim, Telangana governments take steps to ensure that no pig farms are using such illegal crates and to take strict action against violators.  
• Our investigators exposed rampant and extreme cruelty to chicks born into India’s egg and meat industries, cruel and illegal trade in wild animals at markets in several Indian states, as well as the use of dogs for meat.  
• We helped rescue 36 donkeys and worked with the Prakasam police and local groups to seize 500 kilos of donkey meat.

Animals Are Not Ours to Use for Entertainment

• We campaigned to win freedom for  suffering elephants Mariappan, Sunder, Ram Prasad, and Gajraj, who were exploited and neglected, and we worked with Rajasthan authorities to cancel a festival that perpetuates cruelty to elephants. 
• After our vigorous campaign, elephant Malti who was abused to haul passengers at Amer Fort has been sent to a reputed sanctuary, where she will live free from abuse and in the company of other rescued elephants. 
• We got the Election Commission of India to prohibit  political parties and candidates from using animals for election campaigns, and the National Students’ Union of India to refrain from using animals as part of a rally or protest or for any purpose.  
• We advocated for the High Court of Bombay’s removal of horse-drawn carriages from Mumbai’s streets, an ongoing campaign.  
• In response to petitions filed by PETA India, the Gauhati High Court bans buffalo and bulbul fights. 
• We worked with authorities to stop numerous violent, cruel bull races. In 2022, we stopped illegal bullock cart races in Palakkad, Kerala and Pimpri Chichwad.  
• We persuaded online travel service Cleartrip to implement a new animal welfare policy that ends its promotion of animal rides. 
• Following a PETA India complaint, Delhi and Ahmedabad police conducted raids and seized hundreds of spools of glass-coated manja kite string from shops, and booked sellers under The Environment (Protection) Act (EPA), 1986 and Indian Penal Code. Additionally, Governments of Punjab, Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Tripura issued directions to prohibit the use of glass-coated cotton and other forms of manja.
• After learning from PETA India how painful spiked bits injure horses, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Assam, Haryana, Meghalaya, cracked down on them. We worked with Delhi, Chandigarh, Amritsar, Maharashtra police to seize hundreds of spiked bits used to control horses used for weddings. 
• After hearing from PETA India about  the cruelty, pain, and suffering endured by animals used in circuses, BookMyShow and Paytm Insider removed animal circuses from its platform, and we had 100 veterinarians write to the Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying to prohibit t animal use in circuses, Delhi High Court ordered seizure of a hippo from Asiad circus, and he is now thriving at a reputable  sanctuary. We also worked with local police and NGOs to rescue other animals abused in circuses.  
• After our appeals and intervention, Rajasthan Government ordered the  removal of 20 medically unfit elephants from tourist rides at Amer Fort, while the committee constituted by the Project Elephant Division of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change ordered a phase-out of elephant rides at Amer Fort by replacing them with electric vehicles. Celebrities including Sidharth Malhotra, Vijender Singh, Zeenat Aman, Sonakshi Sinha joined PETA India  in urging authorities to end abuse of elephants used for performances. 
• Pooja Bhatt’s Fish Eye Network won PETA India award for pledging never to use animals in films.  
• We released footage shared by Fauna Police revealing how dogs are forced to fight.
• Harnessing the wonders of modern technology, PETA India initiated a campaign, donating lifelike impressive, mechanical elephants to temples. Since 2023 with the support of celebrities and kid government officials, we have donated Irinjadappilly Raman, Niranjana, Mahadevan, Shiva, Baladhasan, Vadakkumbad Sankaranarayanan, and Veerabhadra to South Indian temples. With this innovative project, temple authorities preserve deep cultural traditions while allowing sensitive, intelligent elephants to remain in the jungle with their families. 
• We launched Asia’s first animatronic elephant Ellie, voiced by actor Dia Mirza, who visited 157 schools in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi-NCR, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Hyderabad, and Jaipur to tell 1,51,232 children the story of how elephants lose their freedom in captivity, an, how important it is for them to treat animals with respect. 
• After hearing from us, a Supreme Court committee recommended that 55-year-old captive elephant, Pratima, and her calf, who were being illegally kept and abused, be transferred to a sanctuary too. And they too were rescued! 
• In Sangli and Mumbai, PETA India collaborated with police to shut down illegal horse races. As a result, 10 abused horses were sent to a sanctuary for care. And when we learned about illegal bullock cart racing in Palakkad, we filed a police report and six organizers were booked on charges. 
• We awarded director Richie Mehta a Tech, Not Terror award for using cutting-edge CGI instead of live animals in Poacher, his series about an elephant ivory poaching ring.

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