Go vegetarian to scare bird flu away: PETA

Amid the bird flu scare and culling operations in northern Maharashtra, animal rights activists here are advocating vegetarianism as the best cover against the avian influenza.

"The battle against bird flu begins with your fork... wipe meat from your diet and go vegetarian," a release by People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said in Mumbai on Thursday.

PETA activists also staged a demonstration at Flora Fountain square in south Mumbai, with an activist dressed as a giant chicken and a few others dressed as doctors and nurses.

Bird Flu: Complete Coverage

"The conditions in which chickens are housed in poultry farms and shops are abominable. Viruses spread fast in crowded farms, eventually to mutate and spread among humans," they said.

With increasing demand for meat and chicken, farms that embarked on intensive livestock operations were becoming viral breeding grounds, it said.

Terming the animal farming practices 'filthy,' PETA claimed that rejecting meat meant not only protection against bird flu but also against cardiac conditions, strokes and cancer.