PANAJI
The fourth annual Goa Animal Liberation March was held at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Park, Panaji, on Saturday, with activists from Goa and other regions taking part in a peaceful demonstration from 4 pm to 7 pm.
Organised by the Goa Animal Liberation Movement, the event urged the public to stop the abuse and exploitation of animals in the State and to seek ethical justice for non-human animals. The organisers said veganism is not only a food choice but a social justice movement that challenges the practice of treating animals as property.
The march began from Ambedkar Udyan and included a symbolic visual protest. Activists staged a reverse role-play in which humans were shown as caged and chained, while participants dressed as animals stood free, to highlight animal confinement and exploitation.
Members of the movement, including Gemini Xettigar, Joan Fernandes, Trisha Bene, Daniel Thomas and Fleur Colaco, said that the principles of justice must also apply to animals. They added that veganism aims to end animal use wherever possible and to replace violence with compassion.
Held soon after Goa Liberation Day, the organisers said liberation is an ongoing process and that the values of dignity and justice should extend to animals used in food, research, entertainment, fashion and cultural practices.
