New Delhi: Posing next to the words "Save the Tiger – Boycott Zoos" with his face painted in tiger stripes, Pune Warriors cricketer Wayne Parnell stars in a brand-new ad for PETA India. Parnell, who previously asked fans to boycott animal circuses, points out that zoos deny tigers and other animals their freedom and that condemning them to life sentences in barren exhibits is cruel. The ad was shot by top photographer Himanshu Seth, and make-up and hair artist Ayesha Wadiwala transformed the star cricketer.

In an interview with PETA, Parnell talked about the injustice of keeping animals in captivity for human amusement. "We all love our freedom and own space, and that's no different for animals", said Parnell. "Instead of seeing them locked up in cages, I'd prefer to see them running through the fields in the wild. I encourage people to protect animals' natural habitat and let them be as they're intended to be."

We couldn't agree more: animals kept in zoos are denied everything that is natural and important to them. They are kept in cages that don't come close to replicating the jungles, savannahs and oceans that are their natural homes, and they have no choice in their diets, mates or living companions. Many are driven insane from boredom and the lack of control over their own lives and pace incessantly, groom themselves until they are bald and bleeding and sway back and forth.

Just like us, animals want and deserve to live their lives as nature designed. As long as people buy tickets to the zoo, animals will spend their days and nights staring at the same four walls.