PETA India Wins Interim Custody of Six Horses Forced to Illegally Race on a Highway

In recent court proceedings, the 9th Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Court in Thane granted interim custody of six horses to PETA India following their use in illegal racing on a highway.  

PETA India filed an application seeking interim custody of the six horses on 8 October after the Kashigaon police station registered an FIR and seized the horses under Sections 291, 281, 125, and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, along with Sections 11(1)(a) and 11(1)(l) of The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960. The court, acting in accordance with the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Care and Maintenance of Case Property Animals) Rules, 2017, notified under the PCA Act, 1960, was pleased to allow PETA India’s application seeking interim custody of the horses and rejected the application for custody of the horses filed by the accused owners in the matter.   

PETA India pointed out in its petition that under the Performing Animals (Registration) Rules, 2001, and the Performing Animals (Registration) Amendment Rules, 2001, no animal can be legally used for training, exhibition, or performances without being registered with the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI). Spectacles such as the planned animal races also violate the PCA Act, 1960 and may violate the Transport of Animals (Amendment) Rules, 2001. In addition, the group referred to a 2016 Rajasthan High Court order that banned tonga races in the state following a study report submitted by the AWBI. The report highlighted that cruelty to horses is inherent when they’re forced to run on roads amid traffic conditions that are frightening and distressing for them. Additionally, the group relied on Rule 3(b) of the Care and Maintenance of Case Property Animals Rules, 2017, which empowers the Magistrate to grant custody of seized animals to an animal welfare organisation, as well as judicial precedents of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, various High Courts and trial courts concerning interim custody of seized animals being vested with animal welfare organisations until pendency of trial to avoid further abuse.  

Things You Can Do if You Witness Cruelty to Animals