Lucknow, July 1 A month before the festival of Bakra Eid, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India has started a campaign to stop sacrifice of goats.
Bakrid will be celebrated on July 31 or August 1.
In Lucknow, PETA has put up billboards proclaiming "I am ME, Not Mutton. See the Individual. Go Vegan." A picture of a goat is strategically placed on the billboards.
Common illegal practices during festivals like Eid al-Adha, include cramming animals into severely crowded trucks - which routinely causes suffocation and broken bones - breaking their tails and beating them to keep them moving while marching them to the place of sacrifice, and slaughter by untrained people who slit their throats with dull knives in full view of other animals.
PETA India's Legal Associate, Amir Nabi, said: "All religions call for compassion, and no religion requires eating meat. I celebrate Eid by distributing fruits to the needy. Goats feel pain and fear, have unique personalities, and value their own lives, just as we do."
PETA India has also called on states to stop any illegal transport and killing of animals in the lead-up to the festival. The Supreme Court has already ruled that animals can be slaughtered only in officially licensed slaughterhouses.
( With inputs from IANS )