27 more complaints for cruelty to animals in Bengaluru

The Economic Times , Wednesday, January 07, 2015
Correspondent : TNN
BANGALORE: Inspectors authorised by the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), which operates under the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MoEFCC), filed 27 non-cognizable offence complaints at the Surathkal police station in Dakshin Kannada district of Karnataka on Tuesday after witnessing apparently illegal cruelty to buffalo at the Surathkal Arasu Kambala event organised on 3rd and 4th January.

Previously, over the last two weeks, 38 non-cognisable offences and one First Information Report (FIR) on a cognisable offence were filed during Baradi and Mulki Kambala events. All the three kambala events inspected by AWBI apparently violated a Supreme Court ruling and several laws, including sections of the Indian Penal Code; The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960; the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Transport of Animals on Foot) Rules, 2001; Transport of Animals Rules, 1978; the Prevention of Cruelty to Drought and Pack Animals Rules, 1965; and the Performing Animals (Registration) Rules, 2001. Among the violations at the Surathkal Kambala were the following:

No animals used for kambala were registered with the AWBI.

Many buffalo had two or three tight-fitting, 2 to 2.5-centimetre-thick nose ropes inserted through a hole in the nasal septum, causing tremendous distress and pain. Some buffalo even had a nose ring, along with the thick nose ropes, which was used to cause pain when they resisted.

In some buffalo, the nose ropes were covered with a plastic tube which can easily become painfully hot during the day, causing distress to the animals.

Some buffalo had extensive nose wounds, including from previous injuries that had healed, which were caused by abrasive and thick nose ropes and violent pulling.

Buffalo were subjected to violent acts, including being hit on the body, being slapped on the face and having their tails pulled.

Some bulls were exhausted and refused to stand up but were forced to get up and participate anyhow.

Some buffalo had marks on their hind quarters indicative of being beaten and agitated by people before being taken to the racing point.

Buffalo of different sizes were hitched together, and young animals were forced to run.

Measures to unload the buffalo from vehicles were insufficient, no health or vaccination checks were conducted and no veterinary care was available, even though more than 90 buffalo were used in the event.

Groups of five or six people forced buffalo to take their positions at the start of the race. The animals were pushed, beaten with hands, pulled by their nose ropes and shouted at, causing them immense fear and distress.

During the races, people threatened the animals loudly in order to scare them and make them run faster.

Many buffalo who finished the race frothed at the mouth, salivated heavily and displayed increased respiration rates.

Buffalo were forced to participate in kambala events before sunrise and after sunset and continuously for more than 24 hours.

Drivers and animal handlers did not possess fitness certificate for the animals transported to Surathkal.

The animals were not provided the area as specified by law when transported and no padding or bedding was available in the vehicles.

Through a recent interim order, the Karnataka High Court allowed kambala under certain conditions, stating that there weren't enough studies establishing that buffalo are mistreated during kambala races. However, the 65 non-cognisable offence complaints and one FIR filed at just three kambala events show that cruelty is inherent in kambala events. Moreover, in a judgment on 7 May 2014, the Supreme Court of India upheld a MoEFCC notification published in The Gazette of India stating that bulls "cannot be used as Performing Animals" anywhere in the country and that non-compliance with the PCA Act and the directives of the court would result in "disciplinary action".

"In kambala events buffalo bulls are subjected to fear, pain, discomfort and distress when they are forced to run. The findings of the inspection teams during last three kambala events proves beyond doubt that cruelty is inherent in such events and no regulation can protect animals from abuse", says PETA India Director of Veterinary Affairs Dr Manilal Valliyate.

 
SOURCE : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/environment/flora-fauna/27-more-complaints-for-cruelty-to-animals-in-bengaluru/articleshow/45777443.cms?prtpage=1
 


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