People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals India (PETA India) has launched a new billboard campaign outside colleges and universities in Mumbai and other cities to encourage youth to adopt veganism during World Vegan Month in November.
‘She Did Not Consent’: Message Aimed at Students
Since chicken meat and eggs are among the most consumed animal-derived foods in India after dairy, PETA India’s billboards feature a chicken with the message “She Did Not Consent. Please Go Vegan.”
The campaign underscores that chickens and other animals do not willingly give their bodies or lives.
In Mumbai, the billboard has been placed outside St. Xavier’s College, with similar installations near Jawaharlal Nehru University (New Delhi), Banaras Hindu University (Varanasi), Christ University (Bengaluru) and Fergusson College (Pune).
Campaign Taps Growing Campus Discussions on Consent
According to PETA India, the campaign arrives at a time when conversations about consent are gaining momentum on campuses nationwide to address sexual harassment and violence.
The organisation says the billboards aim to remind students that chickens, too, “do not want to suffer and want to live.”
‘Chickens Have the Right to Autonomy’
Dr Kiran Ahuja, senior manager of vegan and corporate projects at PETA India, said,“Just like humans, chickens have the right to autonomy over their own bodies. Eating meat and eggs means supporting industries that confine, mutilate, and kill them. Respecting consent means extending that respect to all living beings.”
PETA Highlights Suffering of Chickens in Meat and Egg Industries
The organisation states that chickens are intelligent, emotional animals with cognitive abilities comparable to cats, dogs and even some primates.
Yet, most chickens raised for meat spend their lives in crowded, unhygienic sheds, bred to grow unnaturally large upper bodies that often cripple their legs.
Hens in the egg industry, PETA notes, are confined to tiny wire cages in which they cannot even spread their wings.
Cruel Fate of Spent Hens and Male Chicks
After around two years, hens are deemed “spent,” loaded onto lorries and transported to slaughterhouses or meat markets.
PETA adds that millions of newly hatched male chicks who cannot produce eggs are ground up, crushed, drowned, burned or killed in other gruesome ways.
Veganism’s Impact on Animals, Health, and the Planet
“Everyone who goes vegan spares nearly 200 animals a year, significantly reduces their carbon footprint and lowers their individual risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer,” PETA said.
It added nutritional comparisons: One large egg: 6 g protein, One cup cooked chickpeas: 14.5 g, One cup boiled lentils: 17.9 g, Half-cup firm tofu: 19.9 g
