Action Alerts

Demand Action Against Cruel Donkey Killing

PETA India has been bombarded with complaints from people who were horrified to learn from this news video that a donkey was brutally killed in Churu on 7 August 2011. We have been informed by locals that this cruelty took place on the order of Govind Mhansariya, Chair of Nagar Palika, Churu district.

The video footage shows that the donkey was pushed and pulled to ground before being crushed to death by a bulldozer. The killing reportedly took place because some local residents thought the donkey might have rabies because the donkey had been examining a dead dog – even though this behaviour is not a confirmatory symptom for rabies.

Besides being an act of gross cruelty, torturing an animal is an illegal and punishable offense under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. Further, a procedure for the destruction of ill and suffering animals is set out in the act, and a government veterinarian should have been called to provide a medical opinion on the matter and to euthanise the animal humanely if required.

PETA India has written a letter to Vikas S Bhale, the District Magistrate of Churu, demanding prompt action against the Chair of Nagar Parishad. We have also offered to help the government implement a training and awareness programme for relevant government officials, including veterinarians in the area, so that animals who are thought to have rabies can be handled humanely in the future.

Please help us by adding your voice to the campaign and urging the district magistrate to take action against the accused officer immediately.