Celebrate Hen-dependence Day: New PETA India Billboard Urges Citizens to Extend Freedom to Chickens 

For Immediate Release:

30 July 2026

Contact: 

Sanskriti Bansore; [email protected] 

Anushka Yadav; [email protected]  

Delhi — As India marks 79 years of independence, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals India (PETA India) has installed striking billboards which read “Celebrate Hen-Dependence Day, Support the Revolution! Please, Go Vegan”, in New Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Mumbai, as a reminder for the public that animals too deserve freedom—freedom from suffering. The billboard draws attention to the plight of billions of chickens in India who are imprisoned in crowded, filthy cages and sheds for their entire lives for eggs and meat, and encourages the public to go vegan on Independence Day and every day. 

The copy of the billboard is available upon request.

The billboard in Delhi is located at Palam Marg, Sonia Gandhi Camp, Sector 6, Rama Krishna Puram, Vasant Vihar, Outer Ring Road, New Delhi, 110022. 

“Just like humans, chickens desire freedom from suffering. Eating meat and eggs means supporting confining, mutilating, and killing them,” says PETA India Senior Manager of Vegan and Corporate Projects Dr. Kiran Ahuja. “This Independence Day and every day, let’s free chickens imprisoned in cages and sheds by choosing vegan.” 

Hens are intelligent animals whose cognitive abilities are comparable to those of cats, dogs, and even some primates. Yet, in the egg industry, hens are typically confined by the thousands into filthy wire cages so small they cannot even spread a single wing. Instead of giving the birds more space, farmers cut off their sensitive beaks to prevent them from pecking each other out of frustration from the intense confinement. After roughly two years, when their egg production declines, they are considered “spent,” thrown into trucks just like chickens who were raised for meat in overcrowded sheds, and sent to slaughter, where many have their throats cut while still conscious. Meanwhile, millions of newly hatched male chicks—deemed worthless because they cannot lay eggs—and other unwanted chicks are ground up alive, crushed, drowned, burned, or killed by other gruesome methods. 

Everyone who goes vegan spares nearly 200 animals every year, dramatically reduces their carbon footprint, and lowers their risk of heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers. Vegan foods are also protein powerhouses. One large egg contains about 6 grams of protein, while one cup of cooked chickpeas contains approximately 14.5 grams, one cup of boiled lentils 17.9 grams, and half a cup of firm tofu nearly 20 grams. 

PETA India – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat” – opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETAIndia.com or follow PETA India on X, Facebook, or Instagram. 

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