Bigg Boss 18: No eviction on first weekend ka Vaar, donkey Gadhraj freed from house 

Salman Khan

In a happy news for the human contestants of Salman Khan-hosted reality show Bigg Boss 18, there was no eviction in the first Weekend Ka Vaar. Instead, the makers freed donkey Gadhraj from the house and declared it as the first eviction of the season. Bigg Boss 18 started on October 6 and the donkey Gadhraj was welcomed as the 19th contestant. The donkey belongs to advocate Gunaratna Sadavarte who is a contestant on the show. However, the move by the makers to keep a donkey inside the house in captivity did not sit well with animal welfare organisations including PETA who raised objections.

After organisations like PETA ( People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and PFA (People for Animals) raised objections, Bigg Boss decided to free the donkey from the house. While the animal was removed form the show on Thursday, the makers announced the same on television during the Weekend ka Vaar as its first evicted contestant.

What PETA told Salman Khan and the makers of Bigg Boss

In a letter to Khan and the makers, 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. Owing to the objections, the makers decided to free the donkey from the house.

PETA wrote a letter to the reality show makers after they received complaints from. The letter said, "We are being inundated with complaints by members of the public who are deeply distressed over the keeping of a donkey in the show".

PETA in its letter pointed out that the "use of animals on a show set is no laughing matter, avoid using animals as props for entertainment." The letter urged Salman to request the makers to release the donkey and asked contestant Gunaratna Sadavarte to surrender the donkey to PETA India, to rehome in a sanctuary with other rescued donkeys.

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.