After appeals from Mercy For Animals India Foundation, the joint director of animal husbandry, government of Gujarat, issued a circular prohibiting the production, sale, and use of gestation and farrowing crates. The circular directs deputy directors, the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and all district panchayats of Gujarat State to ensure that under Section 11(1)(e) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, no pig farm in the state uses these cruel crates.
The order comes after the recent ban on gestation and farrowing crates by the Manipur and Delhi governments after a Mercy For Animals India Foundation campaign. Upon learning about the plight of pigs confined in gestation crates from Mercy For Animals India Foundation, Bollywood star and animal lover John Abraham sent a letter to Shri Parshottam Rupala, minister of fisheries, animal husbandry and dairying, urging a nationwide ban on gestation and farrowing crates.
A right-to-information response furnished by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) National Research Centre on Pigs states that gestation and farrowing crates severely restrict movement and hence violate Section 11(1)(e) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. ICAR referred to a demi-official letter dated January 2014 to all veterinary universities and the National Research Centre on Pigs advising against the use of gestation crates in universities or research facilities. ICAR also cited the Directorate of Animal Husbandry, Punjab, which had issued directives to district officers to ensure that no gestation crates are used in the state.
Help Pigs! Urge the government to ban gestation and farrowing crates in India.
