PUNE: Pune based NGO working for the rights of animals, Animal Equality, has urged Kolkata police authorities to prosecute buffalo abusers who were recently taped by the organization as part of its latest study on dairies.
The organisation is urging the authorities to book the workers who mercilessly abused buffaloes.
In 2017 Animal Equality introduced its nationwide study into dairy farms exposing the cruel and illegal practices conducted routinely for dairy production. The study also exposed the abuse inflicted on animals during the transport of ‘unproductive’ dairy animals to the slaughterhouse.
In its latest study into dairies, it was brought to light that these cruel practices are still followed. Animal Equality team witnessed buffaloes being mercilessly abused while being loaded into a truck outside a dairy in Paglahat village near Kolkata.
Amruta Ubale, Senior Director of Public Affairs at Animal Equality says, “While loading a buffalo into a truck, three men abused her mercilessly. The men over the course of several minutes ruthlessly beat her, twist her tail and prod her genitals with a stick. They poured water over her mouth and nostrils to make her feel like she was drowning."
She said that the ramp used for loading the buffaloes into the truck is positioned at a severe angle not suitable for natural locomotion and therefore it is natural for the buffaloes to struggle to get in to the truck.
The organisation’s account further stated that more than five buffaloes were crammed in the truck and were subjected to the same abuse. "The truck did not have the mandated infrastructure arrangements as laid out in the Transport Rules, 1978 and the Central Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
Ubale said, “We submitted evidence of this ghastly incident to the Animal Welfare Board of India, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services and the Calcutta Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The Animal Welfare Board of India in turn filed a complaint with the Commissioner of Police and forwarded the evidence to the Deputy Commissioner and the Director of state Animal Husbandry. It is extremely disappointing to see that the local authorities have not taken any action on this.”
The organisation has published a video of this cruel incident along with a petition addressed to the Kolkata Commissioner of Police with an appeal to book these men. The petition states that these cruel acts are a clear violation of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act of 1960. In addition, several other legal violations can be seen in the footage.
