Mumbai – Pro Kabaddi League fever continues, and the champions of team U Mumba took time out of their busy schedule to speak up for animals. The team posed for a print campaign for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India with canine pals Reagan and Jack – who are available for adoption from The Welfare of Stray Dogs – next to this message: "Be a Sport for Animals! Adopt a Dog From an Animal Shelter or the Street". The campaign – which launches just days in advance of the Pro Kabaddi League's kick-off on 25 July – was shot by Pavitr Saith, with make-up by Ayesha Wadiwala and hair-styling by Pawan O Duggal using Biotop Professional products.
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The print visual for the campaign is available here, and a video interview with Team U Mumba is available here .
"To adopt animals is a very good thing. I am from a rural area, where there are many stray dogs", says Anup Kumar. "Instead of buying dogs, if we adopt a stray dog, we can provide him with a permanent home and proper food – and we can provide a good caring environment."
"The people who get the dogs sterilised are doing good work, and this is essential to control the population of dogs", Rishank Devadiga adds. "Dogs on the streets suffer from many diseases, and no one takes care of them. So yes, sterilisation is a must."
Across India, homeless dogs and cats go hungry, are killed by vehicles, sustain broken bones, suffer from infected wounds and are abused by cruel people. Countless more wait in animal shelters because there aren't enough good homes for them. PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that "animals are not ours to abuse in any way" – encourages families always to adopt dogs and cats and never to buy them from breeders or pet stores, which exacerbates the homeless animal overpopulation crisis.
PETA also advocates the sterilisation of companion animals – a routine, affordable surgery that can prevent thousands of animals from being born only to suffer and struggle to survive on the streets. Just one unaltered female dog and her offspring can produce 67,000 puppies in six years. In seven years, one female cat and her offspring can produce 370,000 kittens.
Sterilisation eliminates the stress and discomfort that females endure during heat and greatly reduces the risk of developing mammary cancer. It also makes males far less likely to roam or fight. Team U Mumba's co-stars are currently available for adoption. Anyone interested in adopting Reagan and Jack should contact The Welfare of Stray Dogs on +91-22-64222838 or via e-mail at [email protected].
For more information, please visit PETAIndia.com.
