Andaman and Nicobar Prohibits Manufacture, Sale, and Trade of Illegal Spiked Bits Used to Harm Horses Following PETA India’s Appeal 

For Immediate Release:

20 September 2023

Contact: 

Hiraj Laljani; [email protected] 

Sanskriti Bansore; [email protected] 

Port Blair – Following an appeal from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India, the Andaman & Nicobar Directorate of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services directed all zonal officers and senior veterinary officers to prohibit the sale, manufacture, and trade of illegal spiked bits, which are used to control horses. District societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals and the superintendent of police are among those copied on the circular.   

The copy of the Andaman and Nicobar government’s notification, just received by PETA India, is available upon request.

“This action will go a long way towards ending cruelty to horses in Andaman and Nicobar,” says PETA India Advocacy Officer Natasha Ittyerah. “PETA India is celebrating this development and appealing to all other states and union territories to protect horses by ensuring that injurious spiked bits are not sold.” 

Spiked bits sink deep into horses’ mouths and cut their lips and tongues, causing extreme pain and lifelong damage. Rule 8 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Draught and Pack Animals Rules, 1965, framed under The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960, prohibits the use of “any spiked stick or bit, harness or yoke with spikes, knobs or projections or any sharp tackle or equipment”, but spiked bits are commonly used to control horses forced to work at weddings, give rides, haul carriages, and lug goods. 

Recently, the governments of Goa and Meghalaya also issued letters urging action on PETA India’s request to prohibit the sale, manufacture, and trade of spiked bits there. 

PETA India – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”, and which opposes speciesism, a human supremacist worldview – has conducted enforcement actions with police, including in Chandigarh, Delhi, Maharashtra, and Punjab, seizing more than 800 spiked bits in just the past year alone. 

For more information, please visit PETAIndia.com or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram. 

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