Moga, May 17, 2019 (Yes Punjab News)
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India sprang into action after learning that bull races were scheduled to take place in Takhanwadh and Chuhar Chak villages of Moga district on 16 May.
The group’s Emergency Response Team worked closely with the Deputy Commissioner and the Senior Superintendent of Police of Moga. Both the events were prevented from going ahead, sparing numerous bulls torment.
This year alone, by working with the Punjab police, PETA India stopped two bullock races in Nawanshahr district on 3rd and 5th April, illegal animal races (including dog, horse, and mule cart races) that were scheduled to take place on 12 and 13 April in Kila Raipur, Ludhiana and another two bullock cart races in Rupnagar district, on 11th and 12th May.
“The Supreme Court has made clear that bullock cart races are illegal, and there’s no place in a civilised society for biting bulls’ sensitive tails and beating them mercilessly in order to force them to run at high speeds, as is common at such events,” says PETA India Lead Emergency Response Coordinator Meet Ashar.
“Bulls already have a hard life without the additional torment of being forced to race. We commend the Deputy Commissioner, and Senior Superintendent of Police of Moga for upholding the law and protecting bulls from abuse.”
PETA India – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment or abuse in any other way” – notes that on 8 March, after hearing an urgent petition filed by PETA India challenging the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2019, which would allow cruel bullock cart races to take place at the annual Kila Raipur Sports Festival held near Ludhiana, the Additional Advocate General appearing for the Punjab state assured the court that “no permission either has been granted or will be granted for holding any bullock cart race” and that “till such time the proposed amendment receive the Presidential assent, no application for permission for hosting any such event would be entertained”.
Several investigations conducted by PETA India reveal that during bullock cart races, bulls are often beaten mercilessly with wooden sticks that are spiked with nails in order to get them to run faster in the sweltering heat and that their tails are twisted and snapped, causing them extreme pain and leaving them covered with blood.
During the Kila Raipur Sports Festival in February 2014 – before the Supreme Court of India banned bullock cart races – three bulls were injured, one sustaining a knee fracture, when a number of them ran out of control. During the same event, another pair of panicked bulls were injured when they smashed into vehicles in the parking area.
PETA India’s petitions in the Supreme Court seek to challenge the constitutional validity of Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu state laws aiming to allow the use of bulls for performances and to have them overturned.
