International dancer and actress Lauren Gottlieb participated in a photo shoot for PETA’s anti-circus campaign in Mumbai, India on August 30.
Lauren Gottlieb for PETA Anti-Circus Campaign Photoshoot
Lauren, who rose to fame in India after her stint on season 6 of reality dance show Jhalak Dikhla Jaa, was chained and shackled near a life-size model of an elephant. She put on various poses reflecting sadness and duress as she held up a placard that urged people to “Unchain Elephants: Ban Animal Circuses”.
Lauren Gottlieb in PETA Anti-Circus Campaign Photoshoot 2013
She revealed at the shoot that she loves animals and thought that PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) was an amazing organisation. She also talked about how she had always had pets for as long as she can remember, everything from the regular cats and dogs to not so common lizards.
Lauren Gottlieb in PETA Anti-Circus Campaign Photoshoot
Talking about the campaign, she said that while she loved to perform, she did not think that animals liked it in the least. After all, performance is meaningless to animals and it can be mentally trying and very cruel to make them go against their natural instinct which is more attuned to searching for food, spending time bonding with their families and, above all, being free.
Lauren Gottlieb in PETA Anti-Circus Campaign
Animals in circuses have very little freedom, if any, and it is a well-documented fact that they are beaten, starved and threatened into submission, all for the sake of the show. They live in abominable conditions, are poorly fed and do not receive timely or effective medical treatment when they fall ill. What’s worse and really heart-breaking is that there are no laws in place at all to protect them from such inhumane treatment.
The abuse is staggering, and Lauren thought it was unfair to make them undergo all of that just so we could enjoy watching them. It’s a noble sentiment and we hope that the campaign will make an impact and force law-makers to ban the use of animals in circuses.
Image: IANS