Amisha supports PETA

Amisha Patel lies cowering and cramped in a barren concrete cell, accompanied by the words 'Zoos are pitiful prisons – Let animals live free!'

The new ad for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals -- PETA -- focuses attention on the plight of animals imprisoned in zoos.

Ace photographer Ashok Salian and designer Anna Singh further contributed to this effort.

'George Washington, Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi -- we had them. Animals don't; they need us. Let's fight for their freedom,' says Amisha. 'Animals in zoos are robbed of their most precious possessions -- dignity, freedom and independence.'

Denied their natural surroundings, animals in India's 165 zoos die at an exceedingly high rate, years -- and even decades -- short of their life expectancies. PETA's strategy is to educate people on the cruelty behind zoos, and work with zoo authorities to ensure the animals' basic rights.

PETA has always found high-profile endorsements for its campaign to reform the country's zoos.

In 2002, actor Rahul Dev posed for the 'Imprisoned Cheetah' ad, wearing little more than body-painted spots. In February, sitarist Anoushka Shankar performed exclusively to raise awareness for PETA.

Other celebrities espousing PETA's cause in the past include Yana Gupta and Shilpa Shetty.