CHENNAI: It may be difficult to imagine treating a human, a cow and a mosquito equally. But this was the message of over 200 activists of ‘India Against Speciesism’ across the country.
They are not animal activists, because their fight covers humans too. To create an awareness, liberation marches were organised on Sunday in seven cities, including Chennai, Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad and Pune.
Over 50 volunteers, a majority of them vegans (vegetarians who stay away from milk and milk products), showed up to support the march at Elliot’s Beach, Besant Nagar. Preethi Raghav, one of the organisers said, “We hope that with events like these and thought-provoking slogans, we can create an awareness among the public and encourage people to show their compassion to other species, not just human beings.”
Some of the slogans included phrases such as ‘They’re Babies, Not Ours.’
Equal rights between human beings and animals is an alien concept to most, especially with racism and casteism deeply rooted in humans across the globe - a point that one curious onlooker was quick to point out as the volunteers distributed pamphlets at the event.
Have you ever thought that to get that packet of milk every morning, a dairy cow is sexually exploited? “Dairy cows that should live 25 years now survive up to five, because they are kept pregnant to provide more milk,” Preethi said. “If a human faced the same treatment, it would be nothing short of rape,” she said to highlight the comparison.
Hoping to create more awareness among the public with interactions at schools, colleges and IT companies, the group of Good Samaritans has more in store. If equality doesn’t have a gender or a race, it shouldn’t have a species either, they assert.