After appeals from Mercy For Animals India Foundation to prohibit the use of gestation and farrowing crates to confine pigs in the state, the director of the Uttarakhand Department of Animal Husbandry issued a circular directing chief veterinary officers of the state to ensure pig farms do not violate provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. The department issued the circular after considering recommendations by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and directives of the Department of Animal Husbandry, Punjab.
The Uttarakhand circular joins orders by the Manipur, Gujarat, and Delhi governments prohibiting gestation crates after a Mercy For Animals India Foundation campaign. Upon learning from Mercy For Animals India about the plight of pigs confined in gestation crates, Bollywood star and animal lover John Abraham sent a letter to Shri Parshottam Rupala, the 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 Center 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 protect pigs! Sign the petition asking the government to ban gestation and farrowing crates in India.
