Jacqueline Fernandez gives angora the cold shoulder in PETA India campaign

Just in time for International Rabbit Day (September 25), Jacqueline Fernandez, who was seen most recently in the horror comedy ‘Bhoot Police’, stars in a brand-new People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India campaign that asks everyone to turn their backs on cruelty to rabbits by keeping angora out of their wardrobes. The visual was shot by ace fashion and advertising photographer Sasha Jairam.

“No scarf or sweater is worth tormenting or killing a gentle rabbit,” says Fernandez. “This International Rabbit Day, my friends at PETA India and I are asking everyone to read labels carefully and to leave clothes on the rack if they say ‘angora’!”

With this ad, Fernandez joins a long list of celebrities.. including Raveena Tandon, Sunny Leone, Milind Soman, Ileana D’Cruz and Dia Mirza.. who have teamed up with PETA India to promote animal-free fashion.

A PETA Asia investigation into angora farms in China.. the world’s largest exporter of the material.. has documented that workers ripped the hair from the sensitive skin of the rabbits, even as the animals screamed in pain. After enduring this terrifying ordeal every three months for two to five years, the rabbits are hung upside down and their throats are slit.

The rabbits that are sheared or whose fur is cut, also suffer: their front and back legs are tightly tethered.. a terrifying experience for any prey animal and the sharp cutting tools inevitably wound them as they struggle desperately to escape. Top brands, including Gucci, Calvin Klein, and, most recently, Valentino, have banned angora.