Animal Welfare Board Seeks Action Taken Report From Municipal Corporation of Delhi Following PETA India Appeal to Repeal Policy Allowing Horse Buggies for Ceremonial Purposes
For Immediate Release:
20 October 2022
Contact:
Hiraj Laljani; [email protected]
Sachin Bangera; [email protected]
Delhi – Following an appeal from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India regarding cruelty to horses and the traffic hazards they pose, the Animal Welfare Board of India has issued an advisory asking the commissioner of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to repeal the existing policy that grants licences for horse buggies and horses used for ceremonial purposes in Delhi. PETA India points out that the policy in question stands in conflict with the 2010 MCD resolution banning horse tongas in Delhi and contradicts the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
The copy of the Advisory from the Animal Welfare Board of India is available upon request.
“We thank the Animal Welfare Board for its action to help bring releif to the horses who are fitted with spiked bits, forced to haul heavy loads, and are at risk of being hit by vehicles,” says PETA India Advocacy Associate Natasha Ittyerah. “The Municipal Corporation of Delhi must ensure its policies are in alignment with animal protection laws and public concerns for animals. We urge the corporation to encourage the use of motorised carriages and other cruelty-free options for ceremonies among the masses.”
Horses used for ceremonial purposes in Delhi are kept in premises unfit for them that are devoid of adequate food, water, and shelter. The animals are not provided with suitable veterinary care and are often kept tied in the open in all weather extremes on Delhi’s crowded and congested roads. In wedding ceremonies, the horses are typically controlled through pain using cruel and illegal spiked bits that lacerate their mouths so that they do not buck and flee from the fireworks, drums, and crowd, which they would find frightening.
PETA India – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment” – opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information about PETA India, please visit PETAIndia.com or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
#
