Bigg Boss is designed to court controversy, and this time, the Salman Khan-hosted show has irked audiences within days of it rolling. On Wednesday, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) wrote a letter to Khan and the makers, expressing concern over the use of a donkey, named Gadharaj, in the reality show’s 18th season (Keep the donkey out of it, October 10). In the letter, PETA highlighted that donkeys are naturally anxious animals, and being placed in a chaotic environment like the Bigg Boss set could cause undue stress. The organisation also suggested that the animal be relocated to a sanctuary.

When mid-day contacted Sachin Bangera, Vice President, PETA India, he asserted that using animals in show business for entertainment is wrong. “We don’t want filmmakers to use live animals. In this day and age, CGI [computer-generated imagery] and AI [artificial intelligence] can make it better. Baahubali and the recent Devara - Part 1 used CGI. PETA gave an award to Poacher; the elephants in it were generated by CGI. When you tell a story about animals, using them to convey it is counter-productive,” he reasoned.

The donkey was brought into the Bigg Boss house by one of the contestants, advocate Gunaratna Sadavarte. Soon, netizens took umbrage at its inclusion and expressed that it must be distressing for the animal.

Bangera says, “People called out the makers because they could see that the donkey wasn’t comfortable. It’s not entertainment for him. We can’t enjoy at their cost. The Animal Welfare Board of India has guidelines [about animal safety]. But no one from the board or an inspector is present on the set. In the US, they have inspectors on sets. But our point is, why use animals at all? Just because they don’t speak our language, we feel we are superior and think we have the right to use them for our entertainment.”

He added that PETA has not heard back from Khan’s team or the production house.