JOIN USAll for a noble cause
Bollywood’s bad man Gulshan Grover and actress Mahima Chaudhary recently joined hands with Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) president Sunil Sethi to advocate the cause of releasing animals caged in zoos across the country.
The two actors, along with FDCI came out in support of global animal rights organisation, People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) for a joint campaign called ‘Fashion for Freedom–Boycott Zoos’. The campaign will be extended to FDCI’s next fashion week in September as well.
Sunil said, “Fashion is about beauty and freedom of expression. Animals who are jailed in zoos are denied everything that is natural and important to them—including the ability to fly, swim, select partners, and socialise— simply because they are exotic.”
He added, “Fashion is also about making a point and we’re joining hands with PETA to help them live free.”
While advocating the cause for the freedom of animals, Gulshan said, “Animals and people should be treated equally. Unfortunately, humans are more intelligent and greedy because of which we have the liberty of putting animals in cages and using them for amusement.”
Gulshan and Mahima were also accompanied by actress Monica Dogra of Dhobi Ghat fame. The actors were seen sporting outfits with animal prints.
“This is a great campaign. People love looking at animals in zoos, and now it’s time to bring them out of their cages to their natural habitat. Even kids like to see them roaming freely in an open environment and wildlife sanctuaries,” said Mahima, who was fashionably clad in an animal print saree.
Zoos cannot provide the amount of space animals have in the wild. This is particularly the case for those species who roam larger distances in their natural habitat.
Tigers and lions have around 18,000 times less space in zoos than they would in the wild. Polar bears have one million times less space. Animals also die prematurely in zoos. African elephants in the wild live more than three times as long as those kept in zoos. Even Asian elephants working in timber camps live longer than those born in zoos.
“Wildlife belongs to the wild,” said PETA India chief functionary Poorva Joshipura. “In zoos, larger animals are driven insane from the frustration of captivity. People do not want their freedom to be taken away and neither do animals.
This initiative is about using fashion to raise awareness regarding the plight of animals who are imprisoned in zoos across the world,” she added.