Dog and Pony Rescued From New Momota Circus & Jadu, Following PETA India Complaint
For Immediate Release:
22 December 2025
Contact:
Vikram Chandravanshi; [email protected]
Sanskriti Bansore; [email protected]
Digboi, Assam– A dog and a pony who were rescued from New Momota Circus & Jadu, which was camped at Digboi, Assam until last week by Assam’s Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department, have reached their new sanctuary home. The animals were rescued following a complaint by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals India (PETA India) to Dr Jayanta Kumar Goswami, who is Member Secretary of the State Animal Welfare Board and Director of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department. The circus was using animals for stage performances without the mandatory Performing Animals Registration Certificate (PARC) as required under the Performing Animals (Registration) Rules, 2001 (PARR, 2001). The dog was forced to leap from a height of 25-30 feet into a net, while the pony was struck and had his mouth forcefully pried open to display his teeth to the audience.
Photographs of the animals from the circus and during the rescue are available upon request.
“Forcing animals to perform dangerous stunts is cruelty, not entertainment. Instead, robotic animals can be used to dazzle visitors,” said PETA India’s Senior Policy and Legal Advisor, Vikram Chandravanshi. “PETA India appreciates the prompt action taken by Dr Jayanta Kumar Goswami, Member Secretary, State Animal Welfare Board of Assam, to rescue the dog and pony, allowing them to finally live dignified lives.”
Several AWBI inspections and numerous investigations by PETA India prove that animal circuses are cruel. Even in circuses with valid PARCs, animals have been found chained or confined to small, barren cages when not being used for performances. Animals in circuses are deprived of adequate veterinary care, food, water, and shelter, and are forced to perform tricks through punishment. Many animals in circuses display stereotypic, repetitive behaviour indicative of extreme stress.
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 about PETA India’s investigative newsgathering and reporting, please visit PETAIndia.com or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
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