Victory: Illegal Bullock Cart and Horse Races Stopped in Ludhiana Following PETA India Pressure; FIR Registered
PETA India sprang into action after learning that a series of illegal bullock and horse cart races took place in Gujjarwal village in Ludhiana in the jurisdiction of Jodhan police station on 2 March, and we effectively stopped them from going ahead on 3 March with the help of law-enforcement authorities. By the time we received information on 2 March, the races had already begun, so the Jodhan police station registered a first information report against the organisers and participants under Sections 34, 289, and 337 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and Section 11(1) of The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
PETA India’s cruelty response division worked closely with the senior superintendent of police, Ludhiana rural; the deputy superintendent of police, Dakha; and the station house officer of the Jodhan police station. The event scheduled to take place on 3 March was prevented from going ahead, sparing numerous bulls and horses suffering.
On 8 March 2019, after hearing an urgent petition filed by PETA India challenging The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2019, which aimed to allow bullock cart races to be held 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 have revealed that during bullock cart races, bulls are often beaten with wooden sticks that are spiked with nails in order to get them to run faster in the sweltering heat and their tails are twisted and broken, 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 in the state – three bulls were injured, one sustaining a fractured knee, 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.
Horses used for racing are forced to sprint – often under the threat of whips and even illegal electric shock devices – at speeds so fast they frequently sustain injuries and even haemorrhage from the lungs. In 2016, the Rajasthan High Court prohibited tonga races in Rajasthan after reviewing a report from the Animal Welfare Board of India which highlighted that horses suffer from cruelty when they are compelled to run amid noisy vehicles and loud spectators, causing them fear and distress.
