PETA India requests PM Modi to close slaughterhouses and meat shops for Gandhi Jayanti

On September 28, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India sent a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting that he issue a directive to close all slaughterhouses and meat shops this – and every – Gandhi Jayanti, in honour of the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, who advocated for non-violence and vegetarian eating.The letter addressed to him stated that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India on behalf of their 2 million members and supporters have requested that all slaughterhouses and meat shops in India close every Gandhi Jayanti. Such measures have been taken by local governments, but a national directive would be a fitting tribute to the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, who advocated for vegetarian eating.The letter said, "As you know, animals raised for meat are treated violently. They are typically confined to filthy, crowded cages or warehouses and denied everything that is natural and important to them. They’re torn away from their loved ones and often subjected to painful mutilations or kept chained or tied in place until they are killed. During severely crowded transport to slaughterhouses, many break their bones, suffocate, or die in other ways. At most slaughterhouses, terrified animals’ throats are slit or they’re even dismembered while they’re still conscious, in full view of their companions.""Eating animal-based foods wreaks havoc on human health, too, which stands in direct contrast to the purpose of the Eat Right India and Fit India Movement initiatives. Today, doctors warn that meat and other animal-based foods are linked to heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and other life-threatening ailments – and live-animal markets, factory farms, and slaughterhouses are behind animal-borne diseases, including bird flu and swine flu, which spread to and sicken humans. Indeed, scientists overwhelmingly believe the current pandemic originated in a live-animal market in China," the letter added. Meat production is hard on the planet, and the United Nations report has advised a global move towards a plant-based (vegan) diet in order to save the world from the worst impacts of climate change. And according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, animal agriculture uses up one-third of the world’s freshwater and one-third of global cropland as feed for animals (instead of feeding humans directly).

Officials at PETA India believe that shuttering slaughterhouses and meat shops, at least on Gandhi Jayanti, would encourage the public to give healthy, eco-friendly, and – most importantly – humanely produced plant-based foods a try, which would benefit everyone, humans and animals alike.