Advocating for animal rights, the vegan community of Hyderabad organised a march against speciesism to mark the World Day for the End of Speciesism at the KBR Park on Saturday evening. Holding placards and posters that read slogans such as ‘Why love some but hurt others’ and ‘Unseen they suffer, unheard they cry, in agony they linger, in pain they die’ among others, the group asked for genuine considerations for animals’ interests.Pulkit Parikh, a member of Hyderabad Vegans, said, “This is the first time we are organising a march to mark this day. If we can have discussions on feminism and sexism, why not speciesism?” Urmila Mahajan, a teacher who turned vegan four years ago, said, “After I turned vegan, I have noticed considerable change in my health for good. Giving up dairy products has really helped me in staying fit. Answer me this, who is entitled to drink milk of a cow, a calf or us, the humans?” Also spotted among the crowd was Sashi Kiran Tikka, director of Goodachari. Advocating veganism, Tikka said “I turned vegan in 2013 and I can definitely say that I have been feeling great health-wise since. More and more people will turn vegan once they realise that it’s for their own good. The basic problem is that people are ignorant about it.” Refuting the common notion that a vegan diet is devoid of protein and hence isn’t good for health, the group vouched for plant proteins as a healthy alternative for meat. The members also informed that soon they will be visiting educational institutes across the city to spread awareness about veganism among students.