Pune: PETA India’s New Realistic-Looking AI Robot Calf Confronts Shoppers Ahead Of Mother’s Day
Pune: PETA India’s New Realistic-Looking AI Robot Calf Confronts Shoppers Ahead Of Mother’s Day
Pune, May 8, 2026: On Friday, ahead of Mother’s Day (10 May), People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals India (PETA India) brought its AI-powered robot calf, Jeev, to FC Road in Pune to engage leather-clad shoppers with the poignant question, “Are you wearing my mother?”.
The realistic-looking robot calf, which featured a state-of-the-art 3D-printed head, highlighted how mother cows, buffaloes and calves suffer for leather and broke into a celebratory dance whenever someone proclaimed they were wearing shoes, clothing, or accessories that were animal-free.
“Every leather handbag, jacket, and pair of shoes is the skin taken from a thinking, feeling being who suffered a terrifying and violent death,” says PETA India Lead, Campaigns and Creative Projects, Utkarsh Garg.
“PETA India urges shoppers to honour all mothers—including cows—by choosing vegan materials widely available today.”
Cows have friends, hold grudges against those who hurt them, and mourn when they’re separated from each other. Yet, when their milk production wanes, cows and buffaloes are often crammed into vehicles in such large numbers that their bones break for leather. Those who survive the gruelling journey to the slaughterhouse endure agonising deaths: their throats are cut in full view of other animals, and many are dismembered while they’re still conscious. Male calves are also often slaughtered or left to starve and used for leather since they cannot produce milk.
Leather production also destroys the planet, as turning animals’ skin into leather uses harsh chemicals like chromium, which poison waterways and are toxic to human tannery workers.
