Victory: Illegal Bull Cart Race Prevented in Ludhiana Following PETA India’s Complaint

For Immediate Release:

01 April 2025

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Ludhiana—Learning that an illegal bull cart race was scheduled to take place on 22 March at Alamgir Sahib Village, Ludhiana, Punjab, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India took urgent action to prevent it from happening. The group immediately alerted senior police officials in Ludhiana, and, as a result of police action, the race was cancelled.

“Bull cart races inflict enormous suffering on animals. Participants often force animals to run faster beyond exhaustion by striking them and using weapons, causing physical injuries and psychological trauma. These animals already face significant hardships when made to work and forcing them to endure being beaten and to race is despicable as well as illegal,” says PETA India Cruelty Response Coordinator Sinchana Subramanyan. “We commend the Ludhiana police, particularly Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, Shri S Dev Singh, for their commitment to upholding the law and protecting animals from abuse.”

Since November 2024, PETA India has been raising concerns about illegal animal races in various districts across Punjab and has successfully prevented over 50 greyhound races with the support of the Punjab Police and district administration. In a supportive tweet, the Director General of Police (DGP) of Punjab endorsed the group’s efforts, emphasizing that animals deserve a life free from harm and should be treated with kindness, compassion, and dignity.

In its complaint, PETA India pointed out that according to a December 2020 letter sent to the Chief Secretary of Punjab, the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) had opined that essentially all animal races are prohibited under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960 and has declared similar events illegal. The letter warned that conducting such races amounted to contempt of court and urged the withdrawal of any permissions or directions for such activities to ensure compliance with the law. Additionally, such races violate multiple provisions of The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and the PCA Act, 1960, which prohibits inflicting unnecessary suffering on animals.

The complaint also pointed out that the PCA Act, 1960, specifically criminalises inciting animals to fight with other animals. In the landmark judgment of Animal Welfare Board of India vs A Nagaraja & Ors (Civil Appeal No 5387/2014) of 7 May 2014, the Hon’ble Supreme Court clarified those activities such as animal racing comes within the purview of animal fights, as they involve forcing them into competitive and harmful situations, akin to incitement to fight.

PETA India – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment or abuse in any other way” – opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETAIndia.com or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

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