‘Cruelty to animals is not a choice’

Animal rights activist and Peta Founder Ingrid Newkirk, who is in the country, speaks about her life and work, campaign for veganism, beef ban and more ...

Ingrid Newkirk, the President of renowned international NGO People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), has been at the forefront of animal rights activism at the global stage ever since she founded her organisation in 1980 with fellow activist Alex Pacheco. The renowned British-American activist, who was in Mumbai recently for a campaign against poultry consumption, revealed that the country, where she spent her childhood and majority of her school years, played a strong role in making her the animal rights crusader that she is today.

Born to a British navigation engineer posted in New Delhi and an activist mother, who worked for lepers with Mother Theresa, Ingrid reveals that her initial years were inspired by ideas of compassion towards all, especially animals. However, it was the cruel reality of the life of domesticated animals that really shook her into making a promise that she would one day come back to the country to work towards animal welfare.

And after decades of campaigning for animal rights against huge corporations and governments the world over, Newkirk says that she now plans to bring the fight to India, a country where she has witnessed a startling increase in consumption of meat products in recent years.

Newkirk’s first appearance in the country was made in a ‘skinned chicken clamped to a chopping board’ costume, which she donned for a recent demonstration to fight against the plight of chickens in the country at Azad Maidan. While the demonstration landed her in a tiff with the BMC, she says that it more than achieved its purpose.

Speaking of the demonstration, she says, “Oh, it was a resounding success. You should see the kind of response it has gathered, especially from the youth of the city.” Among her other commitments in the country are efforts to kick-start a rigorous campaign for vegetarianism and veganism and also the rehabilitation and care of the neglected and maltreated ‘Victoria’ horses, which will soon be out of Mumbai’s streets.

While vegetarianism in the country has become a tricky turf of political debate, thanks to the ban on beef, Ingrid feels that the world needs a vegetarian India. Regarding the beef ban, Ingrid adds that whether political, religious or humanitarian, anything that curbs meat consumption is good. “If it is motivated by political or religious reasons, then why not ban pork, mutton and all kinds of meat I wish more religions had sentiments surrounding more and more animals.”

While the right to food choices is seen as a matter of personal freedom, Ingrid says, “It is one thing to have the freedom to select the colour of your clothes and completely another to freely choose cruelty to animals. Cruelty to animals is not a choice!”

Although she’s all for state imposed curbs and bans on meat, her own organisation’s most basic tenet is that of choice. She says. “We always give the people we speak to a clear choice. At the end of the day, we are all just animals. That is what I wanted to show through the recent demonstration and it was a resounding success as we’ve got great responses. There are some people who genuinely love animals and adopt vegetarianism out of compassion. But even if you aren’t one of those, then you might at least care about the

planet, because diary farms and meat are one of the leading causes of global warming and damage to the ecosystem. And in the off chance that you don’t even want to care about the planet you live in, then you might still want to care about your children, family and yourself. Meat consumption is the cause of all kinds of diseases ranging from cancer to everyday ailments. So there is always a choice.”

So what prompted her visit to India, we ask. Newkirk says, “I am a keen observer of trends in food consumption and recently I found out something that deeply disturbed me. It was a report that said chicken consumption in India was skyrocketing and Indians now eat 1 million chickens in every four hours! I always felt that India was a haven for vegetarianism and an example to the world. The cuisine here offers more choice for vegetarians than anywhere else. But increasing meat consumption in the country is startling.”

While Peta’s flashy demonstrations have sometimes been criticised for straying away from the issue, Ingrid says that shocking people with the truth is a powerful weapon. “Look at our record and the response we’ve got for our campaigns. The more people get to know and the more aware they are, the more they will respond rightly.”

Talking about Peta’s recent projects, Ingrid says, “Some of the projects I’m here for are very close to success. One of them is the Victoria horse-carriages of Mumbai, where the court has ordered that they should be off the streets by June next year. for another project, we are meeting sugar factory MDs in the country to discuss the switch from bullock carts to tractors for transporting sugarcanes. There are also some demonstrations we are doing in Delhi as well.”

Her crusade against the Victoria carriages has been long and arduous. “One should see the way these horses are treated. There are people who say that they are of cultural value. But the Victorias are a remnant of the colonial past and are not only incongruous with modern day India, but also with human compassion.” A major part of Peta efforts and campaigns, says Ingrid, are directed towards the next generation. “It is not just the youth, but it is most importantly the children.

That is where the major chunk of our attention is. We have campaigned vigorously in schools and only this Diwali, I read that such campaigns have resulted in reduced bursting of crackers. The impact that children can make is tremendous. All the changes Peta has brought, be it the curb on animal testing in the US or the switch from bullock carts in several parts of India have come through long durations. We have to focus on the children now for a better tomorrow,” she signs off.

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