MADRAS, INDIA, February 4, 2002: R. Madhavan, a popular South Indian movie actor, crammed himself into a tiny cage and gripped its wire mesh to appeal for compassion for chickens as part of a campaign by an international animal rights group. He was posing for the campaign, “Compassion, Not Cages — Go Veg!” out of personal faith as a vegetarian. The event was organized by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). “It’s simple, I love animals so I don’t eat them,” he said. “We’ve all seen chickens crammed in cages at butcher shops but nobody stops to think about the trauma they go through, never getting to run…they still feel pain just like you and me.” The drive by U.S.-based PETA is the latest animal rights campaign it has run in India. Last year, it demanded a boycott of Indian leather to press for more humane slaughter of cows.
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