PETA India’s request to Kerala on Tuesday comes within two months of the group installing a warning billboard in Delhi about the meat industry’s link to the spread of bird flu

IANS | Thiruvananthapuram | September 22, 2021 10:40 am

Photo: IANS

The death of a 12-year-old child in Kerala from the Nipah virus has prompted People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India to urge Kerala’s minister for animal husbandry and dairy development, J. Chinchrani, to close down pig farms in the state to prevent further spread of the infection and a potential epidemic.

PETA India’s request to Kerala on Tuesday comes within two months of the group installing a warning billboard in Delhi about the meat industry’s link to the spread of bird flu. In Delhi, an 11-year-old boy had succumbed to complications from H5N1 bird flu, an infection with a 60 percent mortality rate, in July.

“The crowded animal farms of the meat industry create hotspots for zoonotic diseases. These killer facilities need to be shut down immediately and permanently before they cost more lives,” said PETA India Vegan Foods and Nutrition Specialist Dr. Kiran Ahuja.