PETA appeals to people to opt for horse-free weddings

Lucknow: With the wedding season a little more than a month away, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India has started advocating people to opt for horse free weddings.

PETA has also alerted the public to the cruel practice of using painful spiked bits to control horses at weddings and urged couples to forgo making animals suffer during their special day.

As part of its campaign, PETA has also erected billboards in Lucknow, Chandigarh, Delhi, Jaipur and Mumbai. The Lucknow billboard is located at Hazratganj Main Crossing.

Recently, actor and comedian Raju Srivastava had starred in a video, highlighting the suffering of horses used for weddings and other ceremonies.

Earlier in June, the Lucknow Police, in association with the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India, conducted enforcement drives against the illegal use of spikes for horses.

PETA India Senior Campaign Coordinator, Radhika Suryavanshi, said, "Spiked bits are torture devices that can injure and traumatise horses for life. PETA India is asking couples to have a heart for horses and leave them out of their wedding day plans."

Rule 8 of The Prevention of Cruelty to Draught and Pack Animals Rules, 1965, prohibits the use of spiked bits -- yet PETA India inspections have found 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 awareness towards the cruelty of spiked bits grows, numerous wedding parties are now opting for horse-free 'baraat' options, from simply walking to arriving in fancy cars and even dropping in by helicopter.