[mansi]

Group of models bare all in support of Shilpa
Last updated at 15:07pm on 18th January 2007

Caged in: Shilpa recently posed for a PETA advert to highlight the plight of circus animals and her supporters above

A group of models from an international animal charity were today bearing all in London in a bid to bring an end to the Big Brother "circus" and the bullying of housemate Shilpa Shetty.

The Bollywood actress, who has been subjected to a barrage of vile insults by her fellow housemates, is a dedicated supporter of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) and charity members were today demonstrating in Covent Garden to bring an end to the taunts.


Wearing nothing more than body-painted leopard spots and a sign reading "Stop Big Brother Circus Cruelty - Vote for Shilpa" the models are aiming to urge viewers to take a stand against Shilpa's treatment.

Shilpa is a staunch supporter of Peta's campaign against bullying and cruelty to circus animals who, unlike the Celebrity Big Brother contestants, are not volunteers and are forced to perform through fear of punishment.

Charity chiefs said many circus animals across the world are forced to perform stressful acts with whips, muzzles, electric prods and bullhooks with metal tips.

Many are made to perform confusing acts night after night for 48 to 50 weeks every year and are then kept chained up like bicycles or stored in cages between shows, the charity added.

Peta spokesperson, Lady Lucy Groom, said: "When Shilpa Shetty joined Peta to speak up against cruelty to animals in circuses, she had no idea she would eventually be living in the midst of one.

"We urge viewers to stop Big Brother circus cruelty by voting for Shilpa, our friend and a defender of animals."

Shilpa posed for one of Peta's most high-profile advertising campaigns in India, a sexy anti-circus advert in which she crouched behind the bars of a cage, dressed in a form-fitting tiger-striped body suit, with the tagline "Beaten, Lonely and Abused - Boycott the Circus".