PETA India has put up eye-catching billboards that say, Celebrate Hen-Dependence Day, Support the Revolution! in honor of India’s 79th anniversary of independence. In Kolkata, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Mumbai, the slogan Please, Go Vegan serves as a reminder that even chickens desire freedom—freedom from suffering. As more Indians adopt a vegan diet, the billboard looks forward to a time when billions of chickens won’t have to spend their entire lives in cramped, dirty cages and sheds for foods that go against our moral principles and good health. On Independence Day and every day, the billboard seeks to inspire people to embrace the vegan revolution. To help make kitchens hen happy, PETA India provides a free Vegan Starter Kit along with additional resources.

The billboard in Kolkata is located near the Kolkata Co-operative Housing Society, 36/C, Ballygunge Circular Road, Ballygunge Phari Junction, Facing Park Circus, Kolkata, West Bengal 700019.

“Hens want to be free of pain, just like people do. Eating meat and eggs means supporting confining, mutilating, and killing them. This Independence Day and every day, let’s free chickens imprisoned in cages and sheds by choosing vegan. PETA India envisions a future where chickens live as nature intended, free from cages and sheds, as more Indians choose to go vegan. Everyone is welcome to take part in the vegan revolution,” said Dr. Kiran Ahuja, Senior Manager of Vegan and Corporate Projects at PETA India.

According to a Statista Consumer Insights survey, India leads the world in adhering to a meatless diet, with 9% of Indians now identifying as vegan (completely plant-focused). India’s dietary ethic is highly regarded worldwide.

The cognitive capacities of hens are similar to those of cats, dogs, and even certain primates. However, thousands of hens are usually kept in dirty wire cages that are too small for them to spread a single wing to produce eggs. Farmers cut off the birds’ delicate beaks to stop them from pecking each other out of annoyance at the harsh confinement, rather than giving them more room. When their egg production starts to decline after about two years, they are deemed spent, thrown into trucks like chickens raised for meat in cramped sheds, and sent to slaughter, where many of them have their throats severed while still conscious.

In the meantime, millions of recently hatched male chicks—whose inability to lay eggs renders them useless—as well as other undesirable chicks are burned, crushed, drowned, ground up alive, or killed in other horrific ways.

Every vegan significantly reduces their carbon footprint, lowers their risk of heart disease, diabetes, and some types of cancer, and saves almost 200 animals annually. Foods that are vegan are also excellent sources of protein. About 6 grams of protein are found in one large egg, 14.5 grams in one cup of cooked chickpeas, 17.9 grams in one cup of boiled lentils, and nearly 20 grams in half a cup of firm tofu.

PETA India urges people to Go Vegan and celebrate Hen-Dependence Day.

Priyanka Dutta