Animals Seized by Tumakuru Police From Apollo Circus Following PETA India Complaint
After receiving a complaint from PETA India against Apollo Circus for using animals without a performing animals registration certificate and for cruelty to animals, the Karnataka Animal Welfare Board and Tumakuru police raided the circus, seizing seven dogs and five fish, and registered a first information report (FIR) against the proprietor. The animals have been taken to safe places by PETA India.
The FIR was registered at the Jayanagara police station, Tumakuru, under sections 3, 11(1)(a), 11(1)(e), 26(a), and 38(3) of The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, for inflicting cruelty on animals and for forcing animals to perform unregistered tricks. The provisions invoked in the FIR also include sections 289, 429, and 511 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, for a hideous act in which fish were removed from water, held by a man between his teeth, swallowed, and regurgitated.
Several AWBI inspections and numerous investigations by PETA India prove that using animals in circuses is inherently cruel: they’re continuously chained or confined to small, barren cages and deprived of veterinary care and adequate food, water, and shelter. They’re forced to perform confusing, uncomfortable, and even painful tricks under threat of physical punishment with weapons. Many display stereotypic, repetitive behaviour indicative of extreme stress.
