Navi Mumbai: Ahead of India's 79th Independence Day, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India has launched a nationwide billboard campaign urging citizens to 'Celebrate Hen-dependence Day' by adopting a vegan lifestyle and extending 'freedom' to chickens raised for the egg and meat industries.
Highlighting Chicken Suffering
The campaign features billboards in Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Chennai carrying the message, 'Celebrate Hen-dependence Day, Support the Revolution! Please, Go Vegan.' In Mumbai, the billboard has been installed on Swami Vivekananda Road near Bandra Linking Road in Bandra West.
According to PETA India, the campaign aims to highlight the conditions in which chickens are raised for food production. The organisation alleges that billions of chickens in India spend their lives in overcrowded cages and sheds before being slaughtered, and is urging people to choose vegan alternatives on Independence Day and beyond.
Beak Trimming & Male Chick Culling
"Just like humans, chickens desire freedom from suffering. Eating meat and eggs means supporting confining, mutilating, and killing them. This Independence Day and every day, let's free chickens imprisoned in cages and sheds by choosing vegan," said Dr. Kiran Ahuja, Senior Manager of Vegan and Corporate Projects at PETA India.
The animal rights organisation said hens are highly intelligent animals but are often confined in wire cages with little room to move. It also claimed that birds used in the egg industry undergo practices such as beak trimming and are slaughtered once their egg production declines, while male chicks are culled shortly after hatching because they do not lay eggs.
PETA India also promoted the environmental and health benefits of a vegan diet, claiming that a person who adopts veganism can spare nearly 200 animals annually, reduce their carbon footprint and lower the risk of heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers. The organisation said plant-based foods such as chickpeas, lentils and tofu provide more protein per serving than eggs.
PETA India, whose motto states that 'animals are not ours to eat', said the campaign is part of its efforts to encourage greater awareness about animal welfare and to promote veganism across the country.
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