"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.
"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.
