Yana does a campaign for PETA India

Clad in a black outfit created by Bollywood designer Rocky S, model and actor Yana Gupta appears next to the tagline " Bears Are Not Item Numbers" in a new ad for petaDishoom, the youth division of PETA India.

Shot by ace photographer Atul Kasbekar, the ad is part of the group's continuing campaign to raise awareness of cruelty to bears that are used for entertainment.

Why is Yana so angry about cruelty to bears?

"Dancing" bears are a common - but tragic - sight in India. When they are just 1 year old, cubs have ropes forced through their noses without any painkillers. During this process, a group of people hold the cub down while a red-hot needle is forced through the squealing animal's nose. A rope is then shoved into the piercing, which usually becomes infected. When the ropes attached to the traumatized bears are tugged, the animals lift their legs and "dance". Male cubs are castrated with a razor at a very young age, also without anesthesia or antibiotics. Bears are trained through a regime of pain and starvation, and they rarely survive more than eight years - a third of their natural life expectancy. "

Under the 1972 Indian Wildlife Protection Act, it is illegal to capture and trade bears in India. However, this law is blatantly ignored, and bears can still be seen on the streets of India. In August 2003, PETA India helped rescue six bears that were being forced to beg on the streets of Mumbai.

"Bears are forced to 'dance' through a regimen of pain and suffering", says Yana. "Do not patronize animal acts."