International animal rights leader visits the city to demand rights for farmed animals

As part of the nationwide tour organized by the Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO), Victor Sjodin, Director of International Outreach at Vegan Outreach, USA has arrived today in Udaipur for a two day outreach mission in the city which is scheduled for 14^th & 15^th February.

The Compassion Cruisade as the tour is called, cast off from Delhi in January to spread awareness on cruelty to animals farmed for human consumption. The, Cruisade aims to reach out to 1.5 lakh people in 2 months and enter the Limca Book of Records as the Largest awareness drive for animal rights in Indian History. At Udaipur, it plans to distribute 3,000 booklets at tourist spots and across college campuses including an interactive talk and meeting with students at Geetanjali Institute of Technical Studies, Dabok.

Says Victor, “I am very excited to be in India, which boasts of a rich culture of compassion and kindness to animals. However, factory farming of animals for food, a concept borrowed from the west, has reduced animals to production machines. FIAPO, has done a phenomenal job of organizing activists to speak up against this form of cruelty. I hope to use my experience in public outreach to further strengthen the network against farm animal abuse in India”

According to Ashutosh Nirvadyachari of ‘Vegans in Udaipur’ Group and the author of ‘Khoon Ki Ganga Mein’, “More than 80 crore animals are being killed every 24 hours for our food. Masses of animals in artificial environments, automated feeding and waste removal, zero scope for expression of natural behaviour and socialization- this is just the beginning of what describes a factory farm. A lifetime of such condition like sending in painful slaughter without anaesthetics is what it takes for humans to be able to ‘enjoy’ meat on their plate.  FIAPO’s LivingFree Campaign aims to bring an end to this cruel practice by raising large scale public awareness on the same.”

Mr. Chetan Padliya from Vegans in Udaipur group told, “We are a group of around 50 members in Udaipur city who actively campaign for farmed animal liberation. We are thrilled to have Vic in our city; hope it draws national attention to the evils of factory farming and helps many more people switch to cruelty free diets”

So far, The Compassion Cruisade has traveled to New Delhi, Lucknow, Varnasi & Jaipur in India and reached over 35,000 people with its message. After Udaipur it is scheduled to cover Ahmedabad, Surat, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Coimbatore, Bangalore and Chennai.