petaDishoom Blog

12-Year-Old Wins PETA's Hero for Animals Award

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:12:36 +0530

After you finish school every day, are you greeted by a bunch of cute, loving dogs? Twelve-year-old New Delhi student Laura Moll is! Originally from Germany, Moll says that she has always loved animals. Sound familiar? Moll is an aspiring veterinarian, and she volunteers at Friendicoes Society for the Eradication of Cruelty to Animals (SECA), a local homeless animal shelter. She records her efforts to help animals on her moving website lamo-india.de. Moll also uses the site – which features poignant photographs of the many homeless animals who have touched her heart – to encourage the public to adopt homeless animals. Moll's dedication to helping animals is a wonderful example for compassionate people everywhere to follow. You can help animals too. If you see injured animals or animals in distress, never give up trying to help them. Take animals who are in need of help to a nearby animal shelter or veterinary clinic. Remember, animals have no voice and need you to speak up for them. We don't care if your favourite animal is a chicken, a dog or an elephant – you can always join our Street Team and make a difference for animals, just like Laura did!

A Victory for Paro and His Pals

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 21:57:51 +0530

If our recent blog about Happy the crane made you happy, you’re going to love this PETA India victory: Pardon the obvious pun (I can’t help myself), but when it comes to bustin’ big, bad animal experimenters — PETA India doesn’t ‘monkey’ around. Seriously. Back in 2002, PETA and the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA) busted Pune’s National Institute of Virology (NIV) for making animals suffer in nightmarish conditions. During a visit to the facility, investigators discovered a monkey named Paro and many other animals crammed into dank, dark, filthy cages encrusted with urine and faeces. Goats and sheep were unable to walk due to overgrown hooves. Many of the monkeys were suffering from skin lacerations and severed digits, most likely caused by years of clawing futilely at their cages. Which isn’t surprising when you take into consideration that most of the monkeys had been imprisoned at NIV for more than a decade! Can you imagine spending more than 10 years locked in a tiny, barren cell — every day filled with abuse, deprivation, isolation and misery? Here’s the good news: based on these findings, Paro and nearly 40 of his friends were rescued and taken to a rehabilitation facility in Pune. Here’s even better news: you have the power to help animals still incarcerated in laboratories by taking a stand against The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), a facility that is currently physically and psychologically tormenting hundreds of animals behind closed doors. C’mon, let’s make Paro proud!

PETA India’s ‘Happiest’ Victory

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:33:51 +0530

As we continue to take a walk down memory lane and revisit some of PETA India’s biggest and bestest victories, we came across this very “happy” story: Picture this: It’s 2001 at the notoriously dismal and poorly maintained Prince of Wales Zoo in Lucknow. Officials at the zoo announce that they want to keep a baby crane named Happy imprisoned for ‘entertainment’ instead of granting her the freedom that she deserves (it’s pretty obvious that birds are meant to fly free . Hearing this oh-so-animal-unfriendly news, PETA India immediately flew to the rescue. After posting an action alert on its Web site that garnered more than 1,000 petition signatures from Tamil schoolchildren and prompted tonnes of telephone calls, letters and e-mails from people all around the world, the zoo decided to set Happy free! Okay, now picture this: It’s 2010, and thousands of animals are still behind bars at zoos across the country. The animals may have changed over the years, but the conditions have stayed the same. PETA India has conducted an investigation of more than 30 zoos across the country and found appalling neglect, decrepit facilities, and animal suffering on a massive scale. Many live in concrete and iron cages without even a blade of grass to remind them of their natural habitats. Between cramped, barren enclosures, poor nutrition, and mind-numbing monotony, it’s no wonder that many go crazy and spend hour after hour, day after day, pacing, bobbing their heads, gnawing at the bars, and doing other destructive and abnormal behaviours. Speaking of behaviour, it goes without saying that you won’t be visiting a zoo again, right? You can however visit here to join our Street Team and earn cool prizes for giving zoos some good old-fashioned Dishoom!

Twilight Star Takes a “Bite” Out of Animal Overpopulation in New Ad

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:12:42 +0530

We’re all about Kellshoom! Who is Kellshoom you ask? Kellan Lutz + petaDishoom = Kellshoom. Get it? That’s right, gorgeous Twilight saga actor Kellan Lutz—known to many fans as the studly vampire Emmett Cullen—reveals his softer side in a new ad for PETA. Part of the "Adopt, Don't Buy" campaign, the ad shows Lutz hugging his rescued mixed-breed dog Kola and reads, "Buying Animals Denies Needy Animals a Home”. "I love mutts!" gushed Lutz. "If anything, I think mutts stay the healthiest." Lutz also addressed the animal-overpopulation crisis. "There are surprisingly so many animals in these animal shelters," he said. "It's sad, and knowing that there are not enough good homes for them … and there's a lot you can do … spay or neuter your pets so that doesn't happen." We couldn’t agree more. Almost 25 million homeless dogs are languishing on the street in India because there aren't enough good homes and countless others in shelters. Buying an animal from a pet store or breeder robs a homeless animal of a chance at adoption and encourages sellers to acquire more animals. So if you're thinking about bringing an animal into your home—always adopt and never buy. A big fan of mutts, Lutz encourages “Twilighters" to do just that and tells PETA, “Kola is my best friend." Check out Kellan's exclusive interview for PETA US and watch him share his thoughts about meeting Kola for the first time. Plus, listen as he gives Twilighters a special message letting them know what they can do to help animals!

PETA India's First Campaign: Taking on the Leather Industry

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 14:50:16 +0530

In honour of PETA India's 10th anniversary, which we celebrated in December with a party packed full of some of the hottest celebs in Bollywood and beyond, we’re taking a look back at some of the many awesome achievements we’ve scored over the past 10 years. The following is the first in a series of blogs celebrating these victories: So how did PETA India begin? Sit back and read on… In 1999, after receiving complaints about the way animals used for leather were being treated, PETA founder Ingrid E. Newkirk put together a team and plunged head-on into an investigation of the Indian leather industry. What they found was shocking.

Indian Leather Investigation

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Watch PETA's Shocking Indian Leather Investigation pledge that the only skin that you will wear will be your own.

Rudolf Schenker: “Scorpions Belong in Your CD-Player – Not in a Terrarium”

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:43:55 +0530

Who better to stick up for scorpions than a fellow “Scorpion”?! That’s why we were super excited to score an exclusive interview with the Scorpion’s Rudolf Schenker. The guitarist for the uber popular German heavy metal band (who can forget their 1980s heavy metal rock anthem “Rock You Like a Hurricane”?), Rudolf recently sat down with PETA Germany to chat about the cruel exotic pet trade. Here is an excerpt from his “stinging” interview: Animals have their own personalities and were not made to entertain us or to be stared at. We have to treat them with respect. Animals are already losing their habitats and their freedom. Plus, a lot of people profit from animal suffering and readily accept the death of many of these highly-sensitive beings. People keeping these animals in their living rooms here in Germany might want to have a little piece of freedom but the animal is the one who pays a high price for that. You can’t just deliver nature by mail. Why is Rudolf striking out against the exotic pet trade? Scorpions and other animals such as tarantulas, lizards, turtles and snakes who are purchased as pets suffer from the overwhelming stress of unnatural confinement and loneliness, so it's no surprise when they often fail to thrive in captivity or lash out at owners who are usually unaware of their complex needs. Scorpions are highly intelligent and interesting animals. Florescent under ultra-violet light, these little arachnids are also glowing mothers. Giving birth to live young, a mother scorpion will use her folded legs to make a "birth basket" to catch her babies as they are born and assist them in climbing up onto carry her back where they will stay until they are ready to venture off on their own. Some species of scorpion can live up to 25 years. They shouldn't have to spend their lives trapped in tanks. If you're looking for an animal companion, take Schenker’s advice: “If animals are already here and can’t be returned, you could think about adopting them from the shelter.” If you ever run into a scorpion or other insect around the house, catch him or her humanely. And if you ever run into a “Scorpion” named Rudolf—ask for an autograph! Image credit: CreativeCommons.org / PabloBM

A Lesson in Compassion

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 13:51:54 +0530

In case you have not heard, PETA India is celebrating our 10th anniversary – as part of which we are reviewing our many victories for animals, and tipping you off to ways you can be a part of our future successes! In June 2009, Kolkata's South Point School, one of the world’s largest schools, agreed to adopt non-leather school shoes as part of its uniform. Why is this important? India's treatment of cows is amongst the cruelest in the world. Since it is illegal to kill healthy young cows, they are often deliberately maimed – not that too many slaughterhouse workers really care. Cattle are tied together with ropes through their noses and beaten mercilessly in forced "death marches" over hundreds of kilometers. Handlers force them along by twisting and breaking their tails at each joint and rubbing tobacco, chilies and salt into their eyes. By the time they arrive at the slaughterhouse, many of the surviving animals are so sick and injured that they must be dragged inside, where their throats are slit in front of each other, their legs are hacked off while still conscious and they suffer the agony of being skinned alive.

Pamela Anderson Exposes the Cruel Leather Trade

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Find out more about the cruel leather trade at PETADishoom.com.

By choosing non-leather clothing and accessories, as South Point School has allowed, we can help prevent cows from having to endure this suffering. Click here to take the pledge that you will never wear any skin except your own!

Saving the Planet One Veggie Burger at a Time

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 12:50:44 +0530

Did you know that you can help save the planet just by choosing a veggie burger over its carnivorous counterpart? It’s true: ditching the meat, eggs and dairy is one of the single most effective things you can do to combat climate change. Which makes sense considering that, according to a 2006 United Nations report, raising animals for food creates more greenhouse gasses than all trucks, cars, planes, and ships in the world combined. Of course, it’s not only greenhouse gases we have to worry about. Enormous amounts of water and petroleum are required from start to finish in the meat industry, from raising and transporting crops fed to animals, to raising and transporting the animals themselves, to operating abattoirs. Blood and excrement from abattoirs and farms also pollutes wells and waterways. Makes a pretty compelling case for going vegan, huh? We at PETA India think so. From educating people about the devastating impact meat has on the environment, animals, and human health, to providing free “Vegetarian Starter Kits” to the masses, to conducting and releasing the results of undercover investigations into the cruel poultry and dairy industries, PETA India has been actively encouraging people to embrace a vegan diet for just over a decade now! PETA India’s efforts to promote vegetarianism have also gotten quite a boost from celebrity supporters over the years. Model and actor Aditi Govitrikar posed in outfits made entirely from vegetables to encourage viewers to kick the meat habit, while Anil Kumble showed off his “Go Veg” cricket bat. Mahima Chaudhary did an “angel for the animals” ad; lifelong vegetarian Devang Patel grimaced as he held a chicken drumstick; Madhavan was crammed in a cage to show people how chickens suffer; and Channel V mascot Professor Simpoo turned veg for the animals and for his health. Luckily, you don’t have to be famous to make a positive difference in the world. You have the power to help the planet and all of its inhabitants by simply changing what’s on your plate. So what do you say? Take the plunge and take our pledge to go vegan today!

Dissection? Cut It Out!

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:22:07 +0530

As the celebration of PETA India’s 10th anniversary rocks on, we’re continuing our review of some of our most outstanding achievements, while also looking forward – after all, we don’t want to just sit on our, uh, laurels! Case in point: Dissecting animals in school is not just cruel, but utterly antiquated. Most medical schools in the US, Canada and the UK – including the highly regarded US institutions Harvard, Yale, Columbia, the University of Pennsylvania and Duke University – have stopped using animals in their classes, and we stepped up our efforts to persuade India’s universities to follow suit. In June 2008, we were thrilled to announce that New Delhi’s Jamia Milia Islamia University had agreed to cut out dissection in the new school year. But did we stop there? We did not – and by the following June, Gujarat University, Mizoram University, Bharathiar University and Alagappa University had each replaced dissection with humane current methods in some or all of their classes. These victories are important, but many medical colleges across India are required to continue conducting cruel animal experiments because of the Medical Council of India's (MCI) regulatory requirements. We are fighting to convince them to change their policies, and we need your help. Go here to send a message to MCI and the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA) that it is time to stop forcing medical students to use animals in experiments. After all, the world is spinning forward with newer and safer technologies, and India should be leading the way, not trailing behind!

Compassionate Kids Honoured for Animal Rights Films

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:46:51 +0530

Good news for animals! The next generation's filmmakers will be making films to demonstrate their plight. At the recent Iceplex Ad Film Awards (IAFA) 2009 – a fun film making programme for students ages 11-19 – two out of the five winners for the event's contest made compelling films about animal protection issues. PETA's Ambika Shukla honouring a compassionate student One of the winners addressed the issue of homeless animals, while the other painted a soulful imagery of how caged birds long to fly free in her film. PETA honoured these young guns with certificates signed by noted filmmaker Pritish Nandy and PETA India Founder and Director Ingrid Newkirk, presented by PETA India’s Marketing Head Ambika Shukla. The contest winners, Aman Das and Aditi Krishnamurthy, were overwhelmed to receive this honour from PETA. Want to join Aman and Aditi in speaking up for animal rights? Join petaDishoom's Street Team to get active for animals in your area.

Helping Dogs and Cats Get ‘Control’

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 17:23:03 +0530

As we keep the party going to celebrate PETA India’s 10th anniversary we are taking a look at some of our biggest victories – and looking forward to see what still needs to be done!

In March 2009, PETA India launched our Animal Birth Control (ABC) campaign, and by October we had already won an important victory when the Animal Welfare Board of India agreed to direct many municipalities to implement programmes to spay and neuter animals. Why is this so important? There are so many more animals than available homes, so millions of cats and dogs are abandoned, abused, starved, procured for laboratories or die of disease or accidents on our roads. Whether in a breeder’s kennel or on the street, every newborn puppy or kitten means one less home for a dog or cat in need.

Programmes like ABC make a massive difference for homeless animals, and you can play a part! Always adopt dogs or cats from shelters or the street – never ever buy from a pet shop – and have them spayed or neutered. Plus, step up in your community to sterilise stray animals (making sure to return them exactly where you found them), and to persuade officials to make spaying and neutering mandatory. Together, we can kick animal overpopulation to the curb!

Celebrating 10 Years of Stars Shining for PETA

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 10:28:49 +0530

They are animal rights activists first and actors, models, singers, and photographers second—and they have played a key role in highlighting PETA India's work for animals.

Celebrating 10 Years: PETA's Celebrity Supporters

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Find out more about PETA India's work at PETADishoom.com.

Bollywood legend John Abraham stripped to nearly nothing for a “No One Wants to Be Caged. Let Birds Fly Free" ad to make the point that of all the animals people commonly keep in their homes, birds make the most unwilling and unsuitable companions. When captured and caged, birds become depressed, withdrawn and even turn to self mutilation.

Crouched and cowering in a barren, concrete “cell”,celebrated star Amisha Patel focused attention on the sad plight of animals in zoos. Beautiful Bollywood actor Mahima Chaudhary posed walking in the clouds to tell her legions of fans that they too can be "angels" by adopting a healthy and humane vegetarian diet.

Despite the glittering image conjured by circus advertising, performing animals' lives are truly miserable. Whips, tight collars, muzzles, electric prods, bullhooks and other tools are used to ‘train’ and force animals to perform. Shocked at this cruelty, Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty volunteered to do an ad campaign for PETA in which dressed in a body-hugging tiger-striped bodysuit, she is poised to leap through a ring of fire.

These are just some of the stars that have used their talents to draw attention to the plight of animals. Watch our video and please join me in giving a huge, virtual round of applause to all our fabulous celebrity friends! Then help them spread the word by using the links above to share the video on Facebook or post it to your own Web site.

Priyanka Shah Sports 'Race-y' T-Shirt During Mumbai Marathon

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 10:23:54 +0530

In a spectacle that turned thousands of heads, model, actor and former Miss India Priyanka Shah was spotted at the Mumbai marathon last weekend sporting a special t-shirt in support of PETA India. The tall, sultry beauty queen, who describes herself as a physical fitness fiend, attributes part of her great form and stamina to her healthy vegetarian diet. Priyanka was accompanied by Clucky, PETA's mascot "chicken". "I love animals and am a vegetarian", says Priyanka, who is the proud rescue "mummy" of two beloved animals. "I have adopted an Indian dog off a Pune street and a cat, from Carter Road here in Mumbai."

Besides causing animal suffering on a massive scale, eating animals is bad for your health and the environment.

The consumption of meat and other animal-derived products has been conclusively linked to strokes, heart disease, diabetes, obesity and certain types of cancer. Plus, a recent UN report concluded that raising animals for food produces more of the greenhouse-gas emissions responsible for climate change than all the cars, trucks, trains, ships and planes in the world combined. Priyanka isn’t the only vegetarian athlete! Fauja Singh, Carl Lewis, Rich Roll, Kirsty Wade, Sally Rose Eastall and Dave Scott all choose vegetarian diets. We can’t think of a better advertisement for the many benefits of going vegetarian than Priyanka at the finish line of that gruelling 21 km marathon! Want to join Priyanka in keeping fit and slim? Take PETA's pledge to be veg .do?ea.client.id=111&ea.campaign.id=2891&ea.param.extras=ea_source_code:pdadvvpblog~c=pdblog. Send this e-card to your friends to encourage them to make this positive change in their lives too!

No More Bull!

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 10:14:53 +0530

To celebrate PETA India’s 10 years of rocking the world for animals, we’ll be featuring some of our most amazing victories on this blog over the next year, along with some issues we still need your help on. First up are some victories for bulls. We wouldn’t let the organizers of two bullfights—one in Bijnor and one planned for Azamgarh in February 2009—off the hook until they cancelled both fights. Hooray for bulls being spared from terrifying, slow and painful deaths! Right now, we’re working to help other bulls who are suffering in the cruel “game” of Jallikattu which is held every year in Tamil Nadu on the festival of Pongal. In this lame game, local farmers entertain themselves by attaching money or jewellery to bulls’ horns and chasing the terrified animals around while they try to grab onto their horns to snatch these prizes. Jallikattu endangers both people and animals. This year one person was gored to death and two bulls died as they collided in panic. We need to put an end to this barbarity. Please urge the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu to ban Jallikattu. Stay tuned for more victories!

India Celebrates 10 Years of Victories for Animals

Mon, 28 Dec 2009 21:40:00 +0530

Joined by some fabulous Bollywood besties, PETA India celebrated its 10th birthday last week with a gala, at which vegan delights abounded and awesome melodies sounded. The event, which was sponsored by Nahar Group with associate sponsorship by Hello Basmati Rice, was hosted by superstars and longtime PETA supporters John Abraham, Hema Malini, Anoushka Shankar, Raveena Tandon Thadani, and photo ace Atul Kasbekar. The epic event featured performances by top santoor player Rahul Sharma, Ash Chandler and IshQ Bector . Special messages from rock star Bryan Adams and actor Pamela Anderon – who were unable to attend the event – were aired. The party was attended by the who’s who of tinsel town: Celina Jaitly, Amisha Patel, Rahul Dev, R. Madhavan, Anju Mahendru, Gulshan Grover, Aarti and Kailash Surendranath, Priya Amiri, Leena Mogre , Jatin Kampani, Shibani Kashyap and Shahid Kapur – who was presented with this year’s "Asia’s Sexiest Vegetarian" award. It is thanks largely to our friends and supporters like yourself that PETA India has been able to accomplish so much for animals over the past 10 years. Animals have been freed from laboratory cages, elephants have been liberated from chains, and thousands of people have discovered that the most powerful thing they can do to save animals is to leave them off their plates. The following are just a few of the achievements that PETA India celebrated: • After PETA exposed cruel conditions at the National Institute of Virology, 39 animals were taken from the laboratory to a rehabilitation centre. • A PETA campaign led to a ban on the entry of elephants into the city of Mumbai. Since then, 15 other states have passed similar regulations preventing elephants from entering cities. • A petition drive, backed by many Bollywood stars, resulted in an order prohibiting the use of bullocks to pull heavy oil tankers in Mumbai. • PETA has rescued 67 lions, tigers, and other animals from five circuses. Guests were treated to a delectable vegan menu created by Simran Kodesia, along with a team of chefs from the Trident Hotel. What’s more, every attendee also received a gift bag full of vegan goodies, including vegan chocolates by Fantasie; vegan cosmetics by Omved, Oriflame, Surya Brasil, The Nature’s Co., and Onyx; Amar Medicos clove gel toothpaste; and soya milk pouches by Staeta. The ladies also received gorgeous faux-leather handbags by Cherry Berry. See the photos from the star-studded event here!