Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez and former Supreme Court judge KS Radhakrishnan have been given PETA India’s People of the Year award for their contribution towards the protection of animals.
The animal rights organisation named Ms. Fernandez as ‘Woman of the Year’ and justice (retd) Radhakrishnan as ‘Man of the Year’.
“Justice (Retd) Radhakrishnan and Fernandez are role models who uphold this mandate for kindness to animals through the actions they take, as we all should,” PETA U.K. director Mimi Bekhechi, said.
PETA India, in a statement, said the actress was named for using her massive star power to advocate for the protection of all animals — from horses used to pull carriages known in India as Victorias to rabbits used in painful cosmetics tests.
Justice Radhakrishnan headed a bench that passed a landmark judgement in favour of PETA India and the Animal Welfare Board of India, clarifying that bulls must not be used in jallikattu , bull races, bullfights or any other type of performance and called for animals to be respected in many other ways, it said.
In 2013, Ms. Fernandez took to Twitter to call for the release of a formerly abused elephant Sunder, who was finally moved from his life of misery to a forested park where he has room to roam and the companionship of other elephants.
