Angora

Angora wool comes from angora rabbits who have extremely soft, thick coats. PETA Asia’s exposé of angora rabbit farms in China – where 90% of the world’s angora wool is produced – revealed that abuse is the norm. Rabbits, who are highly social animals, are isolated in urine-encrusted wire cages that are so small, they can barely move. They have very delicate footpads, so they often develop excruciatingly painful foot ulcers when they’re forced to spend all their time on wire cage floors. Every three months, for two to five years, workers strap terrified angora rabbits to boards or hang them from the ceiling in order to rip their hair out as they scream in pain.

Female rabbits produce more wool than males do, so on larger farms, males who aren’t destined to be breeders are killed at birth. Workers on Chinese angora fur farms hit rabbits on the head with the back of a knife, hung them upside down, slit their throat, and skinned them. Some of them were still kicking and twitching as workers tore the skin off their bodies.

Cashmere

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qfEfp48ys

Cashmere comes from cashmere goats, whose coats keep them warm during freezing winters. However, to meet market demand, workers shear the animals during winter, causing many to die from exposure to extreme cold. Any young goats who have perceived defects in their coats are killed.

A PETA Asia investigation of cashmere farms and slaughterhouses in China and Mongolia – which produce 90% of the world’s cashmere – revealed that workers violently hold goats down and tear their hair out with sharp metal combs as they scream in pain. Goats on cashmere farms don’t receive pain relief or veterinary care for the wounds workers inflict on them, and one worker poured rice wine into an animal’s wound. When goats are deemed unprofitable, they’re killed for their flesh. Workers hit them in the head with hammers in an attempt to stun them or drag them by one leg into the slaughterhouse to slit their throat in front of other animals. Goats were left to bleed to death on the filthy floor, and some were still moving a full two minutes later.

There are no penalties for abusing animals on cashmere farms in China, and the situation appears to be the same in Mongolia. The cashmere industry is also environmentally destructive and is a significant contributor to soil degradation and desertification. In fact, 65% of Mongolia’s grasslands are degraded, and 90% of the country is in danger of desertification.

Pashmina is a type of cashmere that comes from Tibetan mountain goats who are exploited and eventually killed for their fleece.

Mohair

Angora goats reared by the mohair industry fare no better. PETA Asia’s investigation of the mohair industry in South Africa – the world’s top mohair producer – documented that workers mutilated goats’ ears with pliers, threw animals into tanks of poisonous chemicals to remove faeces from their hair before shearing, and dragged and lifted goats by their horns, tails, and legs. Since shearers are paid by volume instead of by the hour, they work quickly and roughly, often cutting off entire swaths of skin, and they stitch cuts closed without using any pain relief.
Many goats die after their natural insulation and protection from the cold is removed from their bodies. One farmer admitted that over one weekend, 40,000 goats died of exposure across South Africa, and another said that up to 80% of goats die after shearing on some farms.

After five or six years of this abuse, the mohair industry sends goats to the slaughterhouse, where they’re electrically shocked, hung upside down, and slashed across the throat. One worker was seen slowly cutting the throats of fully conscious goats with a dull knife, breaking their necks, and hacking off one animal’s head.

Shahtoosh
Shahtoosh is made from the coats of endangered chirus (aka “Tibetan antelopes”). Chirus can’t be domesticated, so humans kill them to obtain their wool. It has been illegal to sell or possess shahtoosh products since 1976, but humans still slay thousands of chirus every year to make and sell shawls on the black market.

Save Animals – Don’t Wear Them
Leave goats’, rabbits’, and antelopes’ hair where it belongs: on the animals! Check out PETA India’s list of companies with the “PETA-Approved Vegan” logo to make sure that no living beings are harmed for what you buy and wear.

The post Angora, Cashmere, and Other Types of Wool appeared first on PETA India.

Manja Harms and Kills Birds
Manja maims and kills thousands of pigeons, crows, owls, endangered vultures, and other birds each year. The strings cut birds and become tangled in trees or on buildings, where they then trap and injure animals. A bird rescuer in Ahmedabad estimates that manja wounds 2,000 birds every year during the city’s Uttarayan festival and that 500 of them die from their injuries. During 2017’s Independence Day celebrations, Delhi’s Shri Digambar Jain Lal Mandir bird hospital treated nearly 700 birds for manja-related injuries.

Manja Is Fatal for Humans, Too
People walking, riding on motorcycles and scooters, or travelling in cars with their heads hanging out the windows have lost their lives to the lethal strings. Often, the deadly string slashes their throats, making the chances of survival slim. A 5-year-old boy in Chennai died after being cut by manja when he was riding with his father on a motorcycle, and countless others across the country have perished because of the strings. Another boy who was just 5 years old died in Vadodara after manja slit his throat on his way to school, and a 5-year-old girl in Jaipur passed away from injuries caused by the strings. A 2-year-old boy in Jaipur received 22 stitches after manja cut his face and neck so severely that doctors struggled to save his life.

All Manja Should Be Banned
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) banned synthetic and nylon manja in 2017, but all forms of manja are equally dangerous.

The Government of Delhi has banned all forms of manja, including cotton threads coated with glass, also known as “bareilly ka manja”. Kite-flying is permitted there only using plain cotton threads which are free of any sharp coating. The only way to prevent all animal and human casualties from manja is to ban all forms of it – including cotton threads coated with glass – nationwide.

The post What’s Wrong With Manja? appeared first on PETA India.

Today’s technology is so advanced that subjecting animals to disturbing dissection and experimentation, which can deter students from pursuing careers in scientific fields, is nothing but cruel and archaic. That’s why educational institutions worldwide are turning to pedagogically superior tools – such as virtual dissection, computer-assisted learning, clinical exercises, and human-patient simulators – instead of animals to train students.

Existing Bans on Animal Dissection and Experimentation
In 2012, the then secretary of Ministry of Environment and Forests issued a landmark directive to the Medical Council of India, the University Grants Commission, and the Pharmacy Council of India mandating an end to animal dissection and experimentation by undergraduate and postgraduate students and promoting the use of superior, non-animal methods of teaching. The ministry recognised that Section 17(2)(d) of The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, specifically states it must be ensured that “experiments on animals are avoided wherever it is possible to do so; as for example, in medical schools, hospitals, colleges and the like, if other teaching devices such as books, models, films and the like may equally suffice “.

This historic decision led the Dental Council of India to declare a ban on using animals to train undergraduate and postgraduate dental students a year later. In 2014, the University Grants Commission issued a notification banning animal dissection and experimentation (for training purposes) in undergraduate and postgraduate zoology and life sciences courses, and the Pharmacy Council of India ended the use of animals for teaching purposes in both undergraduate and postgraduate courses, too.

The Medical Council of India has banned dissecting and experimenting on animals in undergraduate courses and has restricted the use of certain species (such as cats, dogs, and monkeys) for other training purposes. But disappointingly, some postgraduate curricula still mention the use of animals for classroom exercises.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) removed animal dissection from its senior school practical biology syllabus in 2001, instructing the head teachers of all affiliated institutions accordingly. The senior classes were the only ones that had previously been undertaking animal dissection in their practical training.

Humane Education Tools
In order to ensure that students receive the most advanced education possible, educators must use the best teaching tools available – which aren’t animals. Widely available non-animal teaching methods have proved academically superior to and more cost-effective than dissecting or experimenting on animals. Educators love cruelty-free teaching methods because they can customise and repeat exercises to fulfil students’ needs, helping them become proficient and confident without experiencing the distress of mutilating or harming animals.

A few examples of commercially available software suitable for studying animal anatomy and physiology include The Digital Frog 2.5, Tactus Technologies’ three-dimensional V-Frog, Glencoe’s Interactive Dissections for frogs and earthworms, and BioLab programs featuring fish, frogs, transgenic flies, foetal pigs, cats, and invertebrates.

Recently, Designmate, a Gujarat-based company that created the virtual frog dissection app Froggipedia – which Apple named the top iPad app of 2018 – received an award from PETA US. The app enables students to understand several growth stages in frogs as well as other anatomical and physiological characteristics of the species without harming animals.

Human-patient simulators are widely used in medical student training curricula to teach pharmacology, physiology, and critical resuscitation skills, and surgical simulators are leading the way in medical training. Dental students learning about nerves can take advantage of Virtual Physiology’s SimMuscle software instead of hurting animals.

The post Animals in Education and Training appeared first on PETA India.

Bans on Testing Household Products and Cosmetics on Animals
PETA India has worked hard for many years to abolish the cruel, archaic testing of various household products, cosmetics, and their ingredients on animals.

In January 2014, the Soaps and Other Surface Active Agents Sectional Committee of the Bureau of Indian Standards’ Chemical Department removed animal tests from its requirements, effectively banning the testing of household products, such as cleaners, detergents, and their ingredients, on animals. In 2015, to emphasise this ban, the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals issued a circular prohibiting the use of animals in the testing of soaps and detergents to manufacturers and industry associations.

It is illegal to test cosmetics or their ingredients on animals in India, too. In May 2014, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare published the cosmetic testing ban, which adds rule 148-C, “prohibition of testing of cosmetics on animals – No person shall use any animal for testing of cosmetics”, to the existing Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945. Soon afterwards, the ministry amended rule 135-B to prohibit the import of cosmetics that have been tested on animals in other countries.

These landmark victories took years of intense campaigning by PETA India and support from our affiliates, ministers and other Members of Parliament, scientific and governmental groups, and compassionate companies, celebrities, and animal rights advocates to achieve, and all that hard work has paved the way for more progress!

Use Your Purchasing Power to Help Animals
You can help protect animals from painful, deadly experiments by always supporting cruelty-free companies. Not sure which companies refuse to conduct or commission any tests on animals for ingredients, formulations, or finished products anywhere in the world? Check the PETA US global list of brands and companies that do not test on animals before you hit the shops or fill your basket.

The post Animals in Cosmetics and Household-Product Testing appeared first on PETA India.

India has some laws to protect animals from experimentation: The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, fully prohibits experiments on frogs, a protected species, and The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, mandates that experiments on animals be avoided whenever possible. PETA India’s scientists use their expertise to work to convince authorities that animal experiments can always be avoided.

Non-animal research conducted using technological innovations have repeatedly proved to be more human-relevant and accurate than crude animal experiments. Here are just a few examples of the available non-animal research methods and their benefits:

In Vitro Testing
In vitro tests allow researchers to predict more accurately how drugs, chemicals, cosmetics, and other consumer products will affect humans.

Harvard’s Wyss Institute created “organs-on-chips” that contain human cells grown in an advanced system to mimic the structure and function of human organs and organ systems so that experimenters can use chips instead of animals for drug and toxicity testing and disease research. These chips can replicate diseases, drug responses, and human physiology more accurately than archaic animal experiments do, and some companies have already turned them into products that other researchers can use instead of animals.

Rather than injecting animals with substances or applying them to animals’ shaved skin to test for allergic responses, CeeTox, Inc, developed a non-animal skin allergy test for cosmetics, medical device extracts, and other substances. MatTek’s EpiDerm – a human cell-based, 3-dimensional tissue model that replicates key traits of normal human skin – can replace animals in product development, regulatory testing, and basic exploratory research applications.

Meanwhile, EpiSkin has created 3-dimensional eye models. According to the company, “The reconstructed tissue forms a stratified and well-organised epithelium which is structurally, morphologically and functionally similar to the human cornea with the presence of basal, wing and mucus production cells.” This technology can successfully replace rabbits and other animals in tests and in basic and applied biomedical research methods.

In 2016, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare amended the Drugs and Cosmetics Act to replace animal tests with in vitro, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development–validated tests, including skin and eye irritation and corrosion tests using 3-dimensional reconstructed models.

Computer (In Silico) Modelling
Another humane alternative to experimenting on animals is using in silico, or computational, models for toxicity prediction, which can provide information regarding the hazard potential of chemicals. These methods include databases to retrieve toxicological data as well as quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs), which can identify hazard potential. QSARs are increasingly being relied on in chemical testing.

Human-Patient Simulators
Human-patient simulators are strikingly lifelike, high-tech tools that offer hands-on medical training without harming animals.

TraumaMan replicates a breathing and bleeding human torso, complete with realistic layers of skin and tissue, ribs, and internal organs to train doctors to perform life-saving surgical procedures on patients with traumatic injuries. This state-of-the-art simulator is portable, less costly than animal-based exercises, and reusable. Studies show that doctors who learn these surgical skills using modern simulators are as proficient or more so than those who cut into animals, largely because simulators accurately mimic human anatomy, whereas dogs and pigs do not.

The Armed Forces Medical College is one example of a facility using a human-patient simulator. The tool can replicate life-threatening situations, including polytrauma, cardiac and respiratory emergencies, and more.

Help From Human Volunteers
Human volunteers have always been, and will always be, invaluable assets to the scientific community and to the progression of human medicine.

Advanced brain imaging and recording techniques – such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) – with human volunteers can replace archaic, invasive brain experiments on animals.

Researchers are also using a method called “microdosing” – giving human volunteers an extremely small one-time drug dose and using sophisticated imaging techniques to monitor how the substance behaves in the body – to generate crucial information on a drug’s safety and metabolism in humans before large-scale human trials. Microdosing replaces certain tests on animals and helps identify drug compounds that don’t work in humans so that they won’t needlessly advance to government-required testing on animals.

The post Alternatives to Experimenting on Animals appeared first on PETA India.

The following are our well-informed responses to claims that are commonly made in support of experiments on animals, debunking these myths.

Claim: “Every major medical advance is attributable to experiments on animals.”
This is simply not true. An article published in the esteemed Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine has even evaluated this very claim and concluded that it isn’t supported by any evidence. Experiments on animals aren’t reliable predictors for human health, and many are undertaken simply out of curiosity and don’t even pretend to hold promise for curing illnesses.

Researchers from the Yale School of Medicine and several British universities published a paper in The BMJ titled “Where Is the Evidence That Animal Research Benefits Humans?” The authors systematically examined studies that used animals and concluded that little evidence exists to support the idea that experimentation on animals has benefited humans.

In fact, many of the most important advances in health are attributable to human studies, including the discovery of the relationships between cholesterol and heart disease and between smoking and cancer, the development of X-rays, and the isolation of the AIDS virus.

Human health is more likely to be advanced by devoting resources to the development of non-animal test methods, which have the potential to be cheaper, faster, and more relevant to humans, instead of chasing leads in often inaccurate tests on animals.

“If we didn’t use animals, we’d have to test new drugs on people.”
We already do test drugs on humans because animals’ physiology differs from ours. Every species responds differently to viruses, drugs, and other substances . According to the US National Institutes of Health, 95 per cent of pharmaceutical drugs that are shown to be safe and effective in animal tests fail in human trials because they don’t work or are dangerous . Half of the drugs approved for human use in the US are relabelled because of severe or lethal side effects that were not identified in tests on animals . The US Food and Drug Administration has stated, “Currently, nine out of ten experimental drugs fail in clinical studies because we cannot accurately predict how they will behave in people based on laboratory and animal studies .”

“We have to observe complex interactions of cells, tissues, and organs in living animals.”
Taking healthy beings from a completely different species, artificially inducing a condition that they would never normally contract, keeping them in an unnatural and stressful environment, and trying to apply the results to naturally occurring diseases in human beings is a dubious undertaking, at best. With modern, cutting-edge technology, such as sophisticated human cell- and tissue-based research methods, that allows researchers to test the safety and effectiveness of new drugs, vaccines, and chemical compounds, the results obtained for naturally occurring diseases in humans are more reliable and relevant than the data obtained by killing animals.

“Animals help in the fight against cancer.”
A survey of 4,451 experimental cancer drugs developed between 2003 and 2011 found that more than 93 per cent failed after entering the first phase of human clinical trials, even though all had been tested successfully on animals. The authors of this study point out that animal “models” of human cancer created through techniques such as grafting human tumours onto mice can be poor predictors of how a drug will work in humans. According to former US National Cancer Institute Director Dr Richard Klausner, “The history of cancer research has been a history of curing cancer in the mouse. We have cured mice of cancer for decades and it simply didn’t work in humans.”

“We don’t want to use animals, but we don’t have any other options.”
The most significant trend in modern research is the recognition that animals rarely serve as good models for the human body. Human clinical and epidemiological studies, human tissue- and cell-based research methods, cadavers, sophisticated high-fidelity human-patient simulators, and computational models have the potential to be more reliable, more precise, less expensive, and more humane alternatives to experiments on animals. Advanced microchips that use real human cells and tissues to construct fully functioning postage stamp–size organs allow researchers to study diseases and also develop and test new drugs to treat them. Progressive scientists have used human brain cells to develop a model “microbrain”, which can be used to study tumours, as well as artificial skin and bone marrow. We can now test skin irritation using reconstructed human tissues (e.g. MatTek’s EpiDerm), produce and test vaccines using human tissues, and perform pregnancy tests using blood samples instead of killing rabbits.

“Animals are here for humans to use. If we have to sacrifice 1,000 or 100,000 animals in the hope of benefiting one human, it’s worth it.”
Experimenters try to claim a “right” to inflict pain on animals based on arbitrary physical and cognitive characteristics, but their reasoning is so immoral that it would also justify experimenting on humans with “inferior” mental capabilities, such as infants and people with intellectual disabilities. If experimenting on one such person could benefit 1,000 children, would we do it? Of course not! Additionally, the money wasted on experiments on animals could be used to help humans via modern, human-relevant, non-animal tests.

The post What’s Wrong With Experimenting on Animals? appeared first on PETA India.

Carriages are dangerous to both horses and humans. An unexpected horn blast or other loud noise can spook any horse – even those acclimated to traffic. Collisions with cars, as well as other accidents, are common where horse-drawn carriages are allowed. For instance, a 3-year-old child was thrown from a carriage in Thane, Maharashtra, after a passing car startled the horse pulling it. And a horse was critically injured after collapsing because of exhaustion at the Gateway of India.

Domesticated horses need specialised care. For example, they require a professional farrier to fit them with shoes – but in India, they’re often slammed to the ground so that metal shoes can be nailed to their feet by untrained handlers. Horses’ teeth should be “floated” (or filed) by a veterinarian once a year. If left untended, their teeth can become sharp, making chewing so painful that the animals may refuse to eat. Husbandry and veterinary needs are routinely ignored by carriage drivers.

The High Court of Bombay has confirmed that horse-drawn carriages are illegal, and PETA India has rescued many horses used illegally in this way, but these carriages remain common in some other parts of the country.

If you care about horses, never take a carriage ride. Spread the word to others about the misery-filled lives of horses forced to haul carriages.

The post What’s Wrong With Horse-Drawn Carriages? appeared first on PETA India.

An inspection authorised by the Animal Welfare Board of India of elephants used for rides at Amber Fort near Jaipur, Rajasthan, revealed that emaciated elephants with painful foot problems were forced to give rides, housed on concrete floors, and sometimes chained with spiked hobbles. Handlers even pierced some animals’ sensitive ears and drilled holes into their tusks, maiming them for life. The inspection also found that many owners had invalid ownership certificates, so their confinement and use of the animals were in apparent violation of Indian animal-protection laws. Visually impaired elephants and even those who tested reactive for tuberculosis were also used there.

Beaten and Battered
Trainers threaten elephants with heavy sticks or other weapons to keep them afraid and compliant. One tourist visiting Amber Fort filed an official cruelty complaint after witnessing handlers assault an elephant for 10 minutes.

Flouting the Law
Even though The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, prohibits the capture of elephants, these sacred animals are torn away from their families in nature, beaten into submission, and made to carry tourists against their will. Elephants are highly social animals who, in nature, spend their entire lives with their families. They walk up to 50 kilometres per day to forage for food, work together to solve problems, and rely on the wisdom, judgement, and experience of their eldest relatives.

What You Can Do

Join Us In Putting An End To Elephant Rides

Camel Joy Rides
Camels are often taken out of their desert homes, beaten, and forced to pull carts and carry people for entertainment. Ride operators often ignore the animals’ most basic needs. Camels are commonly housed with no shelter from the elements and not provided with adequate food. They’re forced to carry riders all day long in the blazing sun with few breaks for rest and water. Many become emaciated, exhausted, and ill.

These camels are also forced to wear heavy and ill-fitting saddles that can chafe and leave them with abrasions. Left untreated, the sores can grow progressively more painful and often develop into acute infections.

Horses Need Help, Too
During India’s wedding season, rented horses work nearly non-stop – from early morning until late at night – going from one ceremony to the next. In addition to being bombarded with noise from blasting trumpets, pounding drums, and exploding firecrackers, many horses endure painful barbed, spiked bits, which are used to keep them compliant. Although banned, such torture devices are widely used.

With the help of the Delhi Police, PETA India conducted an enforcement drive in which more than 50 spiked bits were confiscated.

Celebrate in Style
If you’re planning your special day, pledge to ride in an antique car, on a motorcycle, or in any other animal-free vehicle.

Pledge Never to Use Horses at Weddings

The post What’s Wrong With Riding Animals? appeared first on PETA India.

Beaten and Battered
When not being forced to perform, animals used in circuses spend nearly all their time in chains or inside cramped cages or vehicles. Whips and other weapons are used to keep them “in line”. Handlers jab elephants with ankuses – heavy, sharp steel-tipped batons – to keep them compliant and afraid. Animals would never perform grotesquely atypical types of behaviour – such as headstands or jumping through rings of fire – on command without the constant threat of violent punishment.

A PETA India investigation into circuses documented appalling abuse:

Animals forced to entertain the public are denied everything that gives their lives meaning: the comfort and companionship of family and friends, the freedom to move about and exercise, and the opportunity to make independent decisions.

Take Action

• Never go to an animal circus. When people buy a ticket, they’re supporting the suffering of animals. Talk to family, friends, and co-workers, especially those with small children who may be inclined to go. Explain to them that every ticket purchased directly contributes to the misery the animals endure.
• The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has recently proposed a notification to ban the use of all animals in circuses across the country. You can help by letting the Ministry know you support this initiative. Take action here:

Urgent: You Can Help Ban Animal Circuses in India if You Act Now

The post What’s Wrong With Animal Circuses? appeared first on PETA India.

Jallikattu
In several districts of Tamil Nadu, jallikattu events are held, in which mobs of men terrify and chase bulls, who become so frightened that they often slam into barriers or spectators, often breaking their own bones, sometimes dying, and regularly injuring or killing humans in the process.

Because the bulls are reluctant to run towards the mob, they’re often yanked by their nose ropes, struck with whips and nail-studded sticks, prodded and stabbed with sickles and spears, and bitten on their tails by participants.

PETA India has long campaigned against this cruelty and has conducted multiple investigations into the events.

Jallikattu events have resumed since 2017, when a Tamil Nadu state law was passed allowing them, apparently in contradiction to the protection these animals are guaranteed under the central government’s Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. Since that time, dozens of humans and many bulls have been killed in these violent spectacles.

PETA India continues to fight to have these events banned in the Supreme Court.

Jallikattu Must End

Bull Races

As documented in PETA India’s investigations, bulls forced to race in Maharashtra are commonly deprived of food, water, and shade and are roughly yanked by nose ropes, causing their noses to bleed. Participants bite and twist the bulls’ tails, strike them, and rub irritating substances into their mouths to get them to run. They’re hit with nail-studded sticks or whips, and frenzied participants sometimes even break their tailbones at the joint, which is as painful as breaking a human’s finger.

In Tamil Nadu, participants were even filmed shocking bulls with nail-studded wooden sticks that had electric wires attached to them in order to agitate the animals before races.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0NP9obvrkA

The use of bulls in activities such as races is banned. If you learn of a planned race, please contact PETA India.

Kambala
A PETA India investigation documented that buffalo bulls were subjected to rampant cruelty during kambala (buffalo racing) events in Karnataka. They were beaten and prodded with wooden sticks, and their tails were yanked. Some had marks on their hindquarters and bloody wounds from being beaten. Animals who were reluctant to race were pulled by their nose ropes and dragged to the starting line. Many had several thick nose ropes inserted through their nasal septum, causing them tremendous pain. Bulls who finished the race breathed heavily and frothed at the mouth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raG0hVF1_WM

Dogfighting
Pit bulls are widely used in Punjab and other parts of India for dogfighting, a cruel and illegal blood “sport” that leaves many dogs mangled, bloody, soaked with urine and saliva, and unable to walk. After the fights, the “losing” dogs are often tortured, shot, or just left to suffer and die from fatal injuries inflicted by their opponents.

Cockfighting
Cockfighting is also illegal in India. Roosters raised for fighting are kept tied or caged when not being forced to fight. Razor-sharp spurs are attached to their feet to make fights more “exciting” (i.e. bloody). The birds sustain broken wings and legs, punctured lungs, severed spinal cords, and gouged-out eyes. Those who survive may be forced to fight again or be killed.

Greyhound Racing
No animals can be legally used for training, exhibition, or performances without being registered with the Animal Welfare Board of India under the Performing Animals (Registration) Rules, 2001, and the Performing Animals (Registration) Amendment Rules, 2001, but greyhound races are often illegally held.

Greyhounds forced to race are treated like machines, and many spend most of their lives muzzled and confined to cramped kennels. Health issues and injuries – including broken legs, heatstroke, and heart attacks – claim the lives of many dogs used for racing.

Horse Racing

Around the world, the horse-racing industry has been found to be rife with drug abuse and often-fatal injuries, and many horses used for racing end up at slaughterhouses. In India, horses discarded from various industries often end up being used as living blood factories for drug production.

The post What’s Wrong With Using Animals in ‘Sports’? appeared first on PETA India.