Dhobi Ghat Star Monica Dogra Urges People To ‘Try To Relate To Who Is On Their Plate’ In New PETA India Ad

For Immediate Release:
7 June 2011

Contact:
Sandra Smiley +44 (0)207 357 9229, ext 229; [email protected]

London – Confined with a hen inside a rustic cage, Dhobi Ghat star Monica Dogra appears in a brand-new ad for PETA India urging people to “try to relate to who is on their plate” and go vegetarian. The actor and singer struck meat from her diet after learning about the abuse endured by animals who are killed for meat, and now she is encouraging everyone to switch to a healthy and humane vegetarian diet.

Dogra also sat down for an exclusive video interview with PETA India. “I was raised eating meat”, she explains. “Around 12 years old, I remember reading – about factory farming and the way that – particularly chickens at that time – were being treated – and I remember feeling really harrowed and sad.” Aside from clearing her conscience, Dogra says that leaving meat out of her meals has had a positive impact on her health and body.

Eating meat causes animal suffering on a massive scale. Cows, pigs, chickens and other animals raised for their flesh suffer painful mutilations such as having the ends of their beaks or their tails cut off and the tips of their teeth removed – all without any painkillers. They are crammed into crowded, filthy cages and enclosures and denied everything that is natural and important to them, such as nurturing their young. At the abattoir, animals are hung upside down, and many have their throats cut while they’re still conscious.

Dogra joins a growing list of celebrities – including Pamela Anderson, Shahid Kapoor, Sir Paul McCartney, R Madhavan and Anil Kumble – who have teamed up with PETA India to promote a vegetarian lifestyle.