Mumbai: The Thane rural police, on learning about a bullock cart race that was scheduled to take place on March 10 in Ambarje village near Shahapur in Thane district, sprang into action.
The police worked in coordination with the NGO People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and stopped the illegal and cruel spectacle, said Thane police superintendent (Rural), Shivaji Rathod. “We have also sensitised the people involved in it, about cruelty to animals,” he said.
The apex court has de-clared bullock cart races as illegal, said PETA member, Meet Ashar.
Ashar further stated that, “Animals are not ours to use for entertainment… or abuse in any other way.” He said that during races, bulls are often beaten mercilessly with wooden sticks that are spiked with nails in order to get them to run in the sweltering heat and that the painful twisting and biting of their tails is common. Such events are also a threat to public safety.
In October, in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Ajay Marathe, in which PETA India filed an intervention application, the High Court of Bombay passed an order stating that it’s bound by the observations and views of the 2014 Supreme Court judgment that banned bullock cart races across the country.
