Stuti Parekh is a creative designer and a paper engineer, who helps bring creativity & innovation in various projects and uses her art to rescue animals. She is also an animal rights activist and, more than that, an animal rescuer and rehabilitator. In a span of almost 2 years, she, along with her friend, has rescued and provided shelter to numerous animals in Rajkot, Gujarat. Currently, the shelter is home to over 5,000 rescued animals.
How did your vegan journey begin? What or who inspired
you?
It was around two years back when I was meeting a friend
who was working on climate change. He asked me if there would be any vegan
options available at the cafe we were going to and I told him that I didn’t
really know what vegan meant. When I asked him about what things it included,
he said anything that didn’t have animal products was vegan. When we went
there, I'd ordered a milkshake and I offered it to him as per my habit. In
response to that, he denied it with a little offensive look on his face saying
he would prefer not to contribute to animal cruelty. I was surprised and said
that it was just a milkshake, how could there be any cruelty behind it? And
then he told me the whole process of how cows are exploited to produce milk and
the other horrors of the dairy industry.
Honestly, I wasn't willing to believe him since this was
something completely against what I was taught since childhood. But anyway,
being a mature person, I thought of researching it once I was home. If what he
said was true, then I had been following a lie my whole life. And so I went
home, researched it, and to my absolute horror, whatever he said was true. Till
then, I had never given much thought to the process behind how milk reached our
houses, why cows produced milk, etc. After that, I researched for about 3-4
months and as I got to know more and more about the industries, I decided to
quit all animal products at once. I didn't have any transition period at all
because it hit me like a wall.
Can you tell us more about your paper art?
My paper art was more of a hobby which turned into a
profession. I've been in the creative field since childhood and I am extremely
passionate about it. I wanted to do something in my professional life which I
loved doing. I learnt paper engineering, which is a course that involves making
3D objects from paper. I did an online course by Duncan Birmingham, who is a
paper artist based in London. It was so interesting that I started making paper
models, objects, sculptors etc. And while making them I realised one day that
if I can use my art to make various paper animals and use these art models to
spread awareness about how each one of them is being exploited, then that would
help the support the cause and it would be interesting at the same time.
For the past 2 years, you’ve rescued animals and
provided them shelter. How has your experience been?
It’s a beautiful sight to see them (the animals) free,
getting proper food and clean water, the way they are when they know they are
safe now forever. But talking about the dark side, when we go to the
slaughterhouses we see all these animals huddled up in a dirty little room
which has no light, no ventilation, no hygiene. We just can't forget those
images because they are too horrific. We look at them and we know that most of
them will already be dead by the next hour or so. Even if we talk about the
workers there, it's very sad. There's this worker with whom we've had an
acquaintance for a while now. He wasn't a part of the slaughter business by
choice, he was born into this - forced into this by his father. Nobody ever
cared to educate him and he was so dependent on his father that he couldn’t
move out. He himself gets frustrated at times by all the mental stress he has
to go through on a daily basis. The moment he wakes up, the first thing he has
to do is go kill animals and see all the blood and the anguish. Now he doesn't
want his own child to go through the same thing again so he pleaded with us to
help him find a hostel for his child. He said he wants his child to live a
proper life away from the slaughter business and doesn’t even want him to see
any of it. At times he would just come to us and ask us to purchase all the
animals he has because for him, the only need is the money - that he'll be
happier if the animals go to a shelter rather than a slaughterhouse. There is
absolutely nothing good about a slaughterhouse.
Who all are involved in the rescue operations? Is
there any organisation that you work with?
No, there is no organisation as such currently. I just go
with one of my friends who is my neighbour. At times, my younger sister also
accompanies me. It's actually a huge risk to go to a slaughterhouse alone for
such a task because we need to deal with the workers there, talk to them and
negotiate with them and not all of them are good people. Most of the time we
bring in animals that are discarded due to sickness or that are almost on the
verge of dying due to sickness because they won’t bring good money.
In certain cases, we even need to buy the animals. For example, there was a mother sheep whose leg was infected with pus and maggots. She was unable to even walk and they were going to discard her soon. We got to know that she had two kids, one was a baby girl and another was a baby boy. He said he won’t give the babies for free since they were healthy and would bring good money to him. In such cases, we prefer purchasing the kids so that the entire family can stay together. All the money used for these is collected through donations from compassionate people who are willing to help. I also make small animal-themed notebooks and sell them to raise money for these rescues. The shelter runs on a trust so we do have funds for resource management, i.e. food, medication, salaries, etc. But all the money for the rescues is raised only by the donations.
In certain cases, we even need to buy the animals. For example, there was a mother sheep whose leg was infected with pus and maggots. She was unable to even walk and they were going to discard her soon. We got to know that she had two kids, one was a baby girl and another was a baby boy. He said he won’t give the babies for free since they were healthy and would bring good money to him. In such cases, we prefer purchasing the kids so that the entire family can stay together. All the money used for these is collected through donations from compassionate people who are willing to help. I also make small animal-themed notebooks and sell them to raise money for these rescues. The shelter runs on a trust so we do have funds for resource management, i.e. food, medication, salaries, etc. But all the money for the rescues is raised only by the donations.
Where is the shelter located? How does it work?
It's in Rajkot city, Gujarat. We have people employed in
the shelter who take care of those animals. But we can't expect them to look at
the animals the way we do. They are just employees and not doing the work by
their own will - it is more of a profession for them.
Do you have any plans to upscale the shelter? Isn't it
difficult to manage just by 2 people?
The shelter is already huge. We already have over 5,000
animals who are all rescues. We have cows, buffaloes, sheep, goats, donkeys,
horses, rabbits, pigeons, chickens, parakeets, turkeys and so many others too!
I do want more people to join us for the rescues because going to the
slaughterhouse is very stressful and may leave a bad impact on their minds. But
as a result of the increasing awareness, I've had a few friends wanting to
contribute in some or the other way and willing to help. So we are planning to
upscale in a way that such volunteers can help with vigils, and revealing the
truth to more people so that even more people become aware and then join the
cause. We also plan to have certain campaigns for which I am putting together a
team of about 5 people including a few students who are willing to participate.
Currently, it is at a very basic stage and there aren't many people working on
this but it will be up and running soon.
Is there any struggle that you have faced being vegan?
Actually yes - the biggest and the only struggle that I
have faced is people. I'm talking about people who are aware of everything
that is going on and accept that it's wrong yet continue to do it. Accepting
the fact that people know about these things and still continue contributing to
it on a daily basis is a big struggle for me. For me, it's very simple - if
something is wrong, we don't do it that’s all. Apart from this one thing, I
don't think I have faced any struggle. I know there are very few vegan
alternatives readily available (in Rajkot), but it's a clear choice for me. I
can live without a product but can't live with depriving an animal of their
life.
How is the vegan food availability in Rajkot?
All
Gujarati food, except foods that contain ghee and
buttermilk, most of the food is already vegan. Also, Chinese and South
Indian
cuisines are vegan by default. We also get soya milk & other
plant-based milk in the grocery stores so that's not much of an issue.
Other options like
cheese, vegan buttermilk, yoghurt etc. aren't available yet but that's
okay!
How did turning vegan affect your social life?
One good thing about going vegan is that when you start
working for animals or any living being who doesn't have a voice for
themselves, people start looking at you differently. They start respecting you
more and they even start being more compassionate when you're around them
because they become conscious in your presence. The people who're non-vegetarian
or even vegetarian might crack a joke or two at times but they know inside that
they aren't supporting something really good. In the end, they know what
they're supporting and what I’m supporting. People who were compassionate
friends to me earlier, have become ignorant hypocrites to me now.
On the other hand, many people have come to me and told
me that I've inspired them to leave meat, eggs or dairy. In the last six months
itself, some 37 people have committed to me about going vegan and have asked me
for recommendations and advice on switching.
Apart from food, what other things changed in your
life after turning vegan?
Honestly, after turning vegan, food was the least of my
concerns. One major concern for me was to be extremely vigilant about the
products I was using ranging from toothpaste to soap to basic cosmetics such as
perfume. I didn’t know before that products as these had animal-derived
ingredients at times and were mostly tested on animals. I started making myself
aware of what ingredients to avoid and what symbols to look for. All the
products that I'm using currently come from cruelty-free and vegan brands such
as Plum Goodness, Wet N Wild, Nykaa, Himalaya, Biotique and others which are
registered as cruelty-free on PETA's website. I never supported zoos or
circuses but now I also make my friends aware about why we must abstain from
going to such places. The same goes for leather, fur and wool products too. In
90% of the cases, people are willing to make the switch because they Aren’t willing
to contribute to cruelty - it's just that either they may be unaware or may
have been ignorant.
Any message for non-vegans?
The one major message for a non-vegan would be:
If you don’t wish for someone to treat you or your family
with cruelty and abuse, why do it to others and their family?
Most people avoid looking at the positive side of
veganism - they rather think that they will have to give up something. But just
look at the amount of happiness you get by helping somebody or the amount of
satisfaction you get by just being compassionate. It's just a small change on
your side, but if you think about the other side - it's literally saving their
life.
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We really admire and appreciate Stuti for her work. If you would like to help her for her fundraisers and animal rescues, follow her on Instagram: instagram.com/stu_tii
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We really admire and appreciate Stuti for her work. If you would like to help her for her fundraisers and animal rescues, follow her on Instagram: instagram.com/stu_tii