Sakshi Malik appears in a powerful Mercy For Animals public service ad urging fans to SPEAK UP against animal cruelty and writes a letter to the government calling for amendments to India’s main animal cruelty law.
CHENNAI, India (July 17, 2024)— Sakshi Malik, former Olympic wrestler and one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2024, has teamed up with Mercy For Animals India Foundation, a leading animal protection organization, to raise awareness of the various injustices that animals face.
Shot by Tatsam Malhotra and Manish Sehrawat, the campaign ad features Malik urging people to SPEAK UP against injustice.
“It is as wrong to tolerate injustice as to commit it, whether it is against humans or animals,” said Malik, India’s first woman wrestler to win an Olympic medal. “Animals are living beings who feel pain, fear, and joy just like we do. Every day, millions of animals silently endure cruelty and injustice but are unable to speak up for themselves.”
Malik supports Mercy For Animals India Foundation’s appeal for parliament’s introduction and passage of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Amendment) Bill. She has written to Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Rajiv Ranjan Singh, advocating amendments to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. Enacted in 1960, the Act provides outdated penalties (50 rupees, or 60 U.S. cents, maximum) and fails to classify most acts of animal cruelty, such as beating and killing, as cognizable offenses. This lack of deterrence and enforcement power weakens the Act.
“We are incredibly honored to have Sakshi join us in our endeavor to be the voice for animals,” said Nikunj Sharma, CEO, Mercy For Animals India Foundation. “Sakshi has been a role model for millions of people in the country, and we believe that her appeal will have an immense impact in combating animal abuse.”
Malik joins internationally acclaimed actors John Abraham and Sonakshi Sinha as brand ambassadors for Mercy For Animals India Foundation.
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For more information or to schedule an interview, contact Ronnika A. McFall at [email protected].
Mercy For Animals is a leading international nonprofit working to end industrial animal agriculture by constructing a just and sustainable food system. Active in Brazil, Canada, India, Mexico and the United States, the organization has conducted over 100 investigations of factory farms and slaughterhouses, influenced over 500 corporate policies, and helped pass historic legislation to ban cages for farmed animals. 2024 marks Mercy For Animals’ 25th year of groundbreaking campaigns and programs. Learn more at MercyForAnimals.org.
