Chandigarh Becomes 24th State/UT to Prohibit Confining Mother Pigs to Crates Following Push From PETA India
For Immediate Release:
10 August 2023
Contact:
Hiraj Laljani; [email protected]
Farhat Ul Ain; [email protected]
Chandigarh – Following an appeal by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India to prohibit the manufacture, sale, and use of gestation and farrowing crates in pig farming, the director of Chandigarh Department of Animal Husbandry & Fisheries, has circulated an order instructing the veterinary officer and the honorary general secretary-cum-MOH of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to comply with the law that mandates the aforementioned prohibition.
The circular cites Section 11(1)(e) of The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, which prohibits the confinement of any animal in a receptacle that fails to offer a reasonable opportunity for movement, such as gestation and farrowing crates. The circular reiterates that as confirmed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research’s National Research Centre on Pig, the Act must be adhered to. Furthermore, it urges penal action against farmers or piggeries using gestation and farrowing crates.
The copy of the circular, which was sent to PETA India, is available upon request.
Chandigarh is among 24 states and union territories to issue directions against the housing of pigs in these contraptions. Other governments that have issued circulars include Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.
“PETA India commends the Chandigarh administration for standing up for countless pigs and for opposing the severe confinement mother pigs are subjected to in these crates,” says PETA India Advocacy Officer Farhat Ul Ain. “Pigs are intelligent animals and protective mothers who form bonds with their young when unrestricted. Their confinement to these cramped crates and the ultimate separation from their piglets cause them tremendous grief and agony. Pigs are also transported in cramped trucks to slaughterhouses, where they are stabbed in the chest, frequently after being hit on the head with a hammer. PETA India reminds everyone that they can help pigs and other animals by refusing to eat them.”
Gestation crates (aka “sow stalls”) are metal cages, essentially the size of a pig, with concrete or slatted floors. In them, pigs are unable to turn around or even stand up without difficulty. These devices confine pregnant sows, who are typically transferred to farrowing crates to give birth and are kept in them until their piglets are taken away. Farrowing crates are fundamentally the same as gestation crates, except that they contain small side compartments for piglets.
Gestation and farrowing crates deny mother pigs everything that’s natural and important to them, such as opportunities to forage, build a nest for their young, socialise with other pigs, and regulate their body temperature (such as by wallowing in mud). The extreme stress and frustration caused by this severe confinement results in abnormal behaviour, such as continually biting at the enclosure bars or “chewing” the air.
In 2022, the Chandigarh administration issued a comprehensive notification to address the dangers posed to birds and humans by sharp kite-flying threads and mandated kite-flying be done with plain cotton thread only.
PETA India – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way” – notes that pigs are intelligent, social animals who should not be exploited. For more information, please visit PETAIndia.com or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
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