The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India has appreciated the Meghalaya government for banning the manufacture, sale and trade of spiked bits.
Meghalaya Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Director Dr. R Ch Sangma has sent a letter to district and sub-divisional animal husbandry and veterinary officers urging them to act on the group’s request to prohibit the manufacture, sale, and trade of spiked bits.
These vile devices are used to control horses through pain by injuring their mouths.
The Animal Welfare Board of India has previously issued an advisory to states and union territories in favour of such a prohibition. A copy of the Meghalaya government’s notification on the matter was also received by PETA India.
“This action will go a long way towards ending cruelty to horses in Meghalaya,” says PETA India Advocacy Officer Natasha Ittyerah.
“PETA India is celebrating this development and urging all other states and union territories to protect horses by banning spiked bits from the market,” she added.
Spiked bits sink deep into horses’ mouths and cut their lips and tongues, causing extreme pain and lifelong damage.
Rule 8 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Draught and Pack Animals Rules, 1965, framed under The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960.
This prohibits the use of “any spiked stick or bit, harness or yoke with spikes, knobs or projections or any sharp tackle or equipment”. But spiked bits are commonly used to control horses used for weddings, rides, hauling carriages, and lugging goods.
PETA India, whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way,” has conducted enforcement actions with police, including in Chandigarh, Delhi, Maharashtra, and Punjab, seizing more than 800 spiked bits in just the past year alone.
