PETA says 'go vegan' amid halal row in Karnataka

BENGALURU: Even as the battle over ‘halaal’ and ‘jhatka’ meat simmers on in Karnataka, animal rights organisation PETA India is saying ‘go vegan’ instead.

Amid the clamour from some quarters for boycotting ‘halal’ meat in the state, animal rights organisation PETA India has raised billboards at several points in Bengaluru, urging people to turn vegan.

“People who are fighting over how to kill an animal miss the larger point that no animal wants to die and that eating vegan is kinder, safer, and healthier for you,” says PETA India Senior Campaigns Coordinator Radhika Suryavanshi.

“PETA India reminds everyone that whether it’s halal or jhatka, meat represents a sensitive animal who endured a miserable life and an unnecessary death.”

PETA India points out that vegan meals spare animals immense suffering. In today’s meat, egg, and dairy industries, huge numbers of animals are raised in vast warehouses in severe confinement. Chickens’ throats are cut while they’re still conscious, cows and buffaloes are forcibly separated from their beloved calves, piglets are castrated without painkillers, and fish are cut open while they’re still alive.

People who eat vegan reduce their risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, and cancer and help prevent future pandemics – SARS, bird flu, swine flu, Ebola, and HIV all stemmed from confining or killing animals for food, as did COVID-19, as largely believed by experts, a PETA India statement noted.

Amid growing polarisation in the state, Hindu organisations and BJP leaders in the state have raised objections to sale of ‘halaal’ meat to Hindus.

The development comes in the wake of the ban calls made by Hindu organisations on Muslim shops and stalls at Hindu religious fairs and temple premises in the coastal regions of Karnataka.

‘Halaal’ meat is meat prepared as per Muslim religious rites and all Muslims are supposed to consume only ‘halaal’ meat. With the meat and poultry sold in Muslim shops also prepared as per ‘halaal’ customs, right wing organisations are calling on Hindus to boycott such shops. They describe sale of ‘halaal’ meat to Hindus as a form of economic jihad.