"PETA membersdressed and painted like snakes will bear signs reading, 'Be kind to snakes. Have a cruelty-free Nag Panchami' tomorrow to remind passers-by that the animals experience pain and illness when they are deprived of their natural food and force-fed cow milk during the festival," a PETA release said today.
"The best way to honour snakes is to let them live freely in their natural habitats. PETA is calling on citizens to spare snakes the terror and misery of capture, confinement, and potential death by holding snake-free celebrations," the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said.