Celebrities Overheard
“I am a vegetarian by choice and out of purely personal inclination ....”
– Amitabh Bachchan
“The slaughter of an animal so magnificent and rare would be a terrible tragedy. Making it even more tragic is the fact that Baixinha is tame. She has no fear of humans and even takes food from a child’s hand. How horrible to contemplate betraying this gentle animal’s misplaced trust in humans.”
– Aishwarya Rai, on hearing about Baixinha, an endangered black rhino who was being sold for “canned” hunting on a ranch
“Due to the mass destruction of forests, elephants are forced to go in search of food and are met with poison. Please stop this mass murder, which is shocking the world.”
– Madhuri Dixit, in a letter to the minister of Assam, protesting elephant slaughter
“My heart goes out to these poor animals and I am deeply grateful to these wonderful officers for their actions.”
– Hema Malini, upon sending flowers to police officers who seized abattoir-bound lorries that were extremely crowded with cattle
“Sorry. I’m a member of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. I won’t be doing the show anymore, and I’m now using cruelty-free synthetic materials instead of leather. No one has the right to use a fashion show as a public platform to air one’s grievances or to justify the so-called ‘progress’ of the Indian leather industry, especially when there is a cause that is so much greater and needs to be brought to the notice of the public.”
– Hemant Trevedi, on his having quit participation in Chennai’s International Leather Fair
“I have been a vegetarian all my life, as has my family, including all my dogs. Even when my father, a nonvegetarian, comes home for dinner, he has to eat vegetarian fare.”
– Esha Deol
“Vegetarianism saves animals’ lives and can’t be beat for maintaining a muscular body and building endurance. Vegetarian food contains all the vitamins and protein you need to be at your best and is free of all the fat, cholesterol and toxins found in meat.”
– Anil Kumble
“Chickens may not be cute and cuddly like some animals, but they still feel pain just like you and me. It’s simple – I love animals, so I don’t eat them.”
– R. Madhavan
“I don’t always have time to work out. Being vegetarian helps me stay fit and healthy. For that reason alone, I’d recommend that everyone go vegetarian.”
– R. Madhaven
“Let’s bring harmony to animals’ lives. Join us in asking the government to take cruelty to animals seriously.”
– Pt. Ravi Shankar
“The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act was written in 1960 and has never been updated. People who intentionally hurt animals are not punished. The act needs to be modernised.”
– Anoushka Shankar
“Being a doctor as well as a model, I know that eating vegetarian is the first and most important ingredient in keeping fit. If you eat chicken or other meat, you’re consuming toxins, fat and cholesterol. Vegetarian food is powered with all the vitamins and protein you need to be at your best.”
– Aditi Govitrikar
“If we see cruelty that we have the power to stop and do nothing, we all share the blame. Tourists should refuse to be ‘taken for a ride’, and the law written to protect horses from this abuse must be enforced.”
– Riya Sen, speaking out against horse rides at Juhu Beach, Mumbai
“Zoos are nothing more than animal prisons maintained for human amusement. If you love animals, let them live with their families in the wild, where they belong. In their real homes, animals would be free to walk and run, choose lifetime companions and raise families.”
– Rahul Dev
“Top athletes know what it takes to leave meat-eaters in the dust – vegetarian diets that really pack a punch. None of these powerhouses rely on meat for their muscle: Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard, ‘Mr International’ bodybuilder Andreas Cahling, six-time Iron Man Triathlon winner Dave Scott and World Middleweight Champion Keith Holmes.”
– Harsha Bhogle
“Jamuna and other animals like her are as gentle as their abusers are violent. Their abuse at the hands of corrupt skin and meat traders must be stopped.”
– Raveena Tandon, protesting cruel cattle transport
