Another day, another Twitter conflict erupts, this time about animal rights and Indian traditions. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) went to Twitter on Wednesday to express their opposition to the usage of horses at Indian weddings, writing, “Using horses at wedding rituals is ABUSIVE and CRUEL.”
Arrival of wedding season in the country
This occurred ahead of the country’s wedding season. For the arrival of the groom’s procession, known as a ‘baraat,’ horses are traditionally utilized in Indian weddings, mainly in Hindu and Sikh cultures.
What PETA claims?
PETA India Senior Campaign Coordinator, Radhika Suryavanshi, said, “Spiked bits are torture devices that can injure and traumatize horses for life. PETA India is asking couples to have a heart for horses and leave them out of their wedding day plans.”
Even though spiked bits are prohibited under Rule 8 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Draught and Pack Animals Rules, 1965, PETA India claims that inspections have discovered these torture devices embedded deep in animals’ mouths, ripping their lips and tongues and causing extreme pain, bloody wounds, immense psychological trauma, and lifelong damage.
As public knowledge of the brutality of spiked bits spreads, the organization claims that many wedding parties are opting for horse-free baraat options, ranging from just walking to arriving in fancy cars and even dropping in by helicopter.
Netizens outrage
The message, however, did not go over well with social media users, who labeled the organization as “anti-India” and its attitude as an “attack on Indian traditions.”
A user wrote,” Dear PETA
We are not killing horses at wedding ceremonies”
Another user wrote,” Riding horses for polo is cool!
Riding horses for races is elite!
Riding horses for policing is civil!
But.. riding a horse for a wedding is cruel!!
If bigotry was institutionalized, it’ll be known as “PETA” as they only exist for targeting Hindu festivals and traditions! #Bakri”
PETA began publicizing the inhumane practice of using painful spiked bits to control horses at weddings a month before the wedding season began in September, urging couples to avoid causing the animals agony on their big day. PETA even put up billboards in Lucknow, Chandigarh, Delhi, Jaipur, and Mumbai to raise awareness.
About PETA
PETA is a non-profit organization dedicated to establishing and defending the rights of all animals. It was founded in 1980. PETA works on the basic premise that animals are not ours to experiment on, eat, wear, use for entertainment, or otherwise abuse.
PETA promotes animal welfare by educating lawmakers and the general public about animal maltreatment. PETA is a non-profit animal welfare organization established in Norfolk, Virginia, with affiliates all over the world.
Regardless of whether or not they are helpful to people, PETA believes that animals have rights and ought to have their best interests considered.
PETA’s actions are based on the belief that all beings, human and nonhuman alike, have the right to be free from violence. Our planet is beset by numerous important issues, all of which demand our attention.
One of them is animal cruelty. We believe that everyone should make every effort to prevent animal maltreatment whenever and wherever possible.
Since 1980, PETA has worked to create a worldwide civilization in which humans recognize the needs of “the other nations,” as prominent American writer and naturalist Henry Beston put it in the mid-20th century.
Individual animals’ rights to be respected are upheld by us. For the most part, this entails simply ignoring them.
PETA fights speciesism, a human-centered worldview, and focuses its efforts on the four areas where the greatest number of animals suffer the most for the longest periods: labs, the food industry, the clothes industry, and the entertainment industry.
We also focus on a range of other concerns, such as the harsh extermination of rats, birds, and other “pest” animals, as well as cruelty to domesticated animals.
