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New Indian Express
25-05-2025
- New Indian Express
Man booked for making horse walk on embers at temple in Tamil Nadu
NAMAKKAL: A 38- year-old man was booked under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act for forcing a horse to walk on embers during a temple festival, in Namakkal district on Friday. The accused was identified as C Kumaravel of Namagiripettai. The complaint in this regard was filed by M Vignesh, alias Sai Vignesh, an animal activist and president of Almighty Animal Care Trust, Chennai. On May, 8, he found a video on a social media platform showing a horse being forced to walk on embers during a temple festival, following which the animal writhed in pain. Vignesh lodged a complaint with the Namakkal SP to take action against the person for cruelty to the animal. Based on his complaint, the Namagiripettai police booked Kumaravel under sections of PCA Act and the BNS. Police source told TNIE that, Kumaravel, an autorickshaw driver, owns the horse and used to take it for horse races. As the animal had suffered from health issues, Kumaravel had vowed to make the animal walk on embers at the Mariyamman temple upon recovery. Kumaravel is absconding. Police are searching for him.
Indian Express
14-05-2025
- Indian Express
Sale of unweaned puppies, goldfish stuffed into bottles: report on pet shops in Delhi highlights neglect, illegal sales
Puppies sold before they were weaned, goldfish stuffed into perfume bottles, illicit sale of exotic star tortoises, sick animals caged with healthy ones without clean water or veterinary access, and missing licenses – a detailed report by the Animal Law Cell (ALC) under the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi, has highlighted recurring patterns of violations in pet shops across Delhi. Eighteen students of the ALC undertook field visits to 34 pet shops across eight zones of Delhi, including Shahdara, Central Delhi, Rohini, Janakpuri, Uttam Nagar, Malviya Nagar, Khan Market, and Burari between April 6 and 9 this year. The survey, supervised by faculty members of the Law Centre and the Dean of the Faculty of Law, was designed to evaluate compliance with the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Pet Shop) Rules, 2018. 'We encountered deplorable housing conditions, lack of basic necessities such as feed and water being provided to animals that blatantly violate the PCA Act and the Pet Shop Rules. The Pet Shop Rules have been enacted to ensure the well-being of animals kept and traded in pet shops, yet most establishments continue to flout them with impunity,' the team wrote in a letter to Anil Kumar Singh, commissioner (development), Delhi Government, and Dr Satyavir Singh, director of the Delhi Animal Welfare Board's animal husbandry unit, on Monday. The ALC, in its letter, called for 'conducting inspections, issuing closure notices, sealing unregistered pet shops and seizing the animals housed and displayed for sale within these establishments', besides comprehensive inspection of pet shops at least once a year, continuous monitoring to prevent illegal sale of wildlife, and ensuring accountability in operations by emphasising the maintenance of records in registered shops. As per the report, none of the 34 shops visited had a valid or visibly displayed Certificate of Registration, a basic legal requirement under Rule 3(2) of the Pet Shop Rules, 2018. Many shops had no permanent structures and operated from temporary stalls, street corners, or cluttered interiors filled with stacked cages and tanks, as per the report. It also found issues with waste disposal. 'Most of the shops are in violation of Rule 7, sub-rule(2) of the Pet Shop Rules, as they fail to provide sufficient dietary requirements, lack access to clean drinking water and proper feeding vessels, do not remove food waste, animal excreta, and organic waste on a daily basis, and house animals inimical to each other in the same enclosures,' it said. Many shops claimed to only sell pet accessories, but were in fact supplying animals illegally through personal messaging apps and informal breeder networks. The violations ranged from unweaned puppies—some as young as 40 days—being openly offered for sale, to exotic birds and reptiles caged in unclean, overcrowded enclosures, with no provision for veterinary care or species-specific needs, the report pointed out. In several instances, rabbits were kept in metal cages exposed to the harsh sun, birds were seen panting in wire enclosures without shade, and mice were kept in stacked cages without food or water. In other shops, dead fish floated in algae-choked tanks while iguanas, parakeets and turtles were displayed alongside household pets in breach of wildlife protection laws. The report also carries photographic evidence, shop-wise documentation, and GPS-tagged data. The report highlighted several recurring violations across the surveyed establishments. No shop had veterinary emergency contact information displayed or maintained written health certification records for animals, as required. In many cases, predator and prey species—such as mice, birds, and cats—were housed in adjoining enclosures, causing acute stress. Staffing standards were equally poor, the report indicated, with several shops operated solely by owners or minors without any trained personnel, despite rules mandating experienced staff for each type of pet animal. A lack of ventilation, shade, or temperature control in many shops exposed animals to extreme heat, in contravention of rules to protect different species. As per the report, 'Although a legal framework exists under the PCA Act and the Pet Shop Rules to regulate pet shops and ensure minimum welfare standards, our findings indicate that there remain significant implementation gaps on the ground. These gaps have allowed a number of establishments to operate without accountability, often at the expense of animal welfare.' It added: 'In many cases, pet shops were unaware of or uninformed about the applicable legal requirements, further highlighting the need for robust awareness, outreach, and enforcement mechanisms. Visibly distressed and unhealthy animals were observed in these pet shops, subjected to inclement weather/sun, unhygienic housing conditions, contaminated food and water.' The report also found a 'large' and 'rapidly expanding' online pet trade that is unregulated and held through social media pages and websites operating within Delhi. It noted that these shops are 'engaging in the sale and purchase of pets without the requisite registration or adherence to prescribed rules. This unchecked activity not only raises serious concerns regarding animal welfare but also poses significant risks to public health and consumer safety.'
India Today
03-05-2025
- India Today
Horse faints from heatstroke in Kolkata, handler booked for cruelty as video goes viral
A video of a weak and dehydrated horse collapsing on a street in Kolkata went viral on social media. It prompted outrage online after the clip showed its handler slapping it to force it incident took place near Bhowanipore in Kolkata. The horse, visibly undernourished, was being forced to pull a carriage when it dropped to the ground. Instead of helping it, the handler was seen slapping the horse, trying to get it to move video, posted by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India, garnered sharp criticism and renewed concerns over the treatment of working animals in cities. With temperatures soaring and conditions worsening for street animals, many questioned how long such cruelty would go unchecked. Watch the video here:A dehydrated and emaciated horse suffered a heatstroke and collapsed in Kolkata, as the handler slapped and yelled at the commendthe@KolkataPolice for registering an FIR following a PETA India should have to endure such cruelty!Help us rescue PETA India (@PetaIndia) April 29, 2025Social media users didn't hold back either. 'Starving and forced to work in this heat,' one said. Another wrote, 'He should be jailed. This is nothing short of abuse.'PETA filed an official complaint against the handler. Responding to the growing pressure, Kolkata Police confirmed that an FIR had been registered. 'The case was filed under appropriate sections of the BNS and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act,' they said. Police also added that the horse was now under veterinary its follow-up, PETA India stated, 'Thank you for the FIR. However, please immediately seize the horse for vet examination/rehab per police duty per Sections 34 & 35 of the PCA Act, 1960.'As the incident gained traction, social media users, including actor Pooja Bhatt, demanded stricter checks on horse-drawn carriage operations in Indian cities.
