Chennai; Traffic on Cathedral Road slowed down to a snail’s pace near the Semmozhi Poonga at noon on Tuesday, as motorists looked on incredulously at two giant ‘condoms’, one bright pink and the other bright blue, waving placards from the side of the road. As part of a campaign to promote animal birth control (ABC) conducted by the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), two volunteers dressed up as condoms to grab the attention of the public.
Chani Singh, one of the organisers said, “This is being done as a run up to World Population Day. As humans, we can wear condoms to prevent overpopulation, but dogs or cats cannot do the same. It is our responsibility to neuter or spay the stray animals and even the ones in our homes.” According to PETA, sterilising one female dog can prevent 67,000 births in six years and one female cat 4,20,000 births in seven years.
Chani added, “Millions of dogs and cats suffer on the streets or languish in severely crowded shelters. We, at PETA, urge people to open up their homes to these animals – always adopt, never buy a pet.”
Several motorists either slowed down or stopped to get a better look and asked the organisers what was going on. Auto rickshaw drivers were the curious of the lot, while those on two-wheelers stopped to take a quick snap on their phones. Izhamparuthi, an auto driver, said, “It is good that they are trying to educate the public.”
College students Sekar and Amit said, “We were proceeding towards Marina beach when we noticed these brightly coloured condoms waving at everyone. So we took a U-turn to see what this was about.”
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