‘Cows Deserve Protection’: PETA Clarifies After Facing Flak Of Netizens Over Poorly-Timed Raksha Bandhan Campaign

In a bizarre incident, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) shared a new campaign billboard featuring a cow asking people to “go leather-free” this Raksha Bandhan which left many netizens scratching their head.

Introducing the campaign on Twitter, PETA wrote, “This Raksha Bandhan, protect cows too.” The billboard posters have now been put up in multiple cities including Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Patna etc.

Multiple netizens slammed PETA for the illogical tweet, questioning them the relation between leather and rakhis. They argued that the rakhis are rarely made of leather and using such an auspicious occasion to promote cow protection was really insensitive and ill-timed.

One user wrote, “Leather Rakhis ? Never heard of them. But I know of LEATHER BAGS, WALLETS, BOOTS , JACKETS, BOOK COVERS, BELTS,and more. But these are not pertaining to My religion alone and hence won't fit your agenda and will never be heard in big hoardings ever.”

Another wrote, “PETA is talking about cow protection so that nobody calls them hypocrite as they usually speaks for cats and dogs but not for cow. And they are doing so on a Hindu festival and not Eid to avoid the backlash they would've faced for saying it on Eid.”

Another remarked, “First of all we don't need any special day to protect cows. Second leather is not used in Raksha Bandhan. It is because of these stupid behaviour people don't take @PetaIndia seriously. You all know that no leather is used in Rakhi but still you have to target this festival.”

PETA later clarified on twitter, “We didn’t say rakhis are made of leather. We said Raksha Bandhan is a good day to extend protection to cows who are our sisters under the skin by taking a pledge to go leather-free, for life. That’s a message all kind people can get behind.”

In a blog post PETA stated, “We aim to raise awareness of the cruelty that cows, buffaloes, goats, and other animals endure before their skin is turned into shoes, bags, and other accessories.”