Chandigarh Police and PETA India Displays 200 Seized Spiked Bits Used to Control Horses in Weddings
PETA India teamed up with Chandigarh police to display 200 seized spiked (or “thorn”) bits, which are used to control horses through pain, and called on everyone to celebrate weddings without involving animals. Police confiscated the torture devices, which are deliberately designed to incise animals’ mouths, from horse owners, as the use of these contraptions violates Rule 8 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Draught and Pack Animals Rules, 1965.
PETA India held a similar law enforcement drive in July with Maharashtra police and in April with Delhi police. The group has launched a nationwide campaign aimed at helping police enforce the ban on using spiked bits on horses based on the results of a multi-state survey of government efforts to enforce the ban. After being contacted by PETA India, several other states and union territories, including Assam, Bihar, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh, also issued orders mandating the enforcement of this prohibition. PETA India is campaigning not only for police to search for and confiscate the illegally used devices but also for legislation to be introduced to close a loophole that still allows the manufacture and sale of these vile devices.
As public awareness of the cruelty of spiked bits grows, numerous wedding parties are now opting for horse-free baraat options, from simply walking to arriving in fancy cars and even dropping in by helicopter. Celebrity couples whose weddings were horse-free include Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor and Mira Rajput, Neil Nitin Mukesh and Rukmini Sahay, Zaheer Khan and Sagarika Ghatge, Neha Dhupia and Angad Bedi, Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli, Sonam Kapoor and Anand Ahuja, and Varun Dhawan and Natasha Dalal.
Using horses for weddings is an outdated practice that supports such abuse.
