Trust Sunny Leone when she says this: “Too Much Sex Can Be a Bad Thing.”
By Krishna Pokharel from http://blogs.wsj.com/
That’s what the tagline says on a new advertisement by the Indo-Canadian porn star and actress. We should also mention that it adds, “Sterilise Your Dogs and Cats” and is promoting a campaign for the Mumbai-based People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals India. The group said she didn’t charge any money for the advertisement.
Ms. Leone hit the bigtime in India after her appearance in the last season of the television reality show “Big Boss.” She is about to make her Bollywood debut in a mainstream erotic thriller (rather awkwardly) named “Jism 2” that is expected to be released on screens this week. It is a sequel to 2003’s “Jism.”
Ms. Leone’s point is that if we allow our pets, especially dogs, have “too much sex” and they are not sterilized, their population on the streets will keep increasing, especially as many among the ranks of India’s pet owners are plumping for pedigree breeds instead of strays.
In a statement Monday, PETA quoted Ms. Leone as saying in an interview: “I believe in not buying – and adopting. And it’s because there’s so many dogs out there that need a home, that were left on the streets. They just need that love, and if you can rescue an animal, then that’s one of the greatest gifts you can give.”
She adds: “I believe that every single dog should be spayed and neutered. You don’t want to continue the cycle of homeless dogs or cats. And spaying and neutering also keeps them healthy. It prevents them from having different diseases that they can get if they are not.”
Dogs are the primary carrier of rabies, the disease that kills about 20,000 people every year in India, a large proportion of the 55,000 rabies-related deaths worldwide, according to World Health Organization estimates.
Stray dogs form the majority of India’s 19 million dog population and account for over 60% of the estimated two million dog bites in India every year. How to deal with them has been an issue of public debate.
Earlier this month, India Real Time wrote about the tussle between animal-rights activists and anti-stray-dogs groups in India after a Punjab lawmaker suggested that the menace of strays in his state can be checked by sending them to China or northeast India for “whatever it is that they do with them.”
The bizarre solution that Ajit Inder Singh Mofar, the lawmaker, irked the defenders of animal rights who took his statement as a reference to killing dogs for meat among certain tribal communities in northeastern India and in China, where eating dog meat is not uncommon.
But the activists have found a new ambassador in Ms. Leone. Ms. Leone shares her home in Los Angeles with two rescued dogs, according to PETA. It added that the producers of “Jism 2,” an erotic thriller in which Ms. Leone plays the lead actress, have also donated her wardrobe “ including sexy lingerie worn by Leone in the film” to PETA for auction.
A spokesman for the group said in interview that the money collected for the auction will be used to “create awareness for the welfare of homeless dogs in India.”
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