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FIAPO calls for action against keeping a horse tied at a booth to take photos at the International Film Festival of India

International Film Festival of India , which is currently being held in Goa has tethered a wounded horse using a rope at a photobooth to be used as a prop in pictures. Under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Performing Animal Rules, 1973) Act 1960, a performing animal is mandated to be registered with the State Government or another relevant authority with a certificate of registration. Only then is it legally permissible to exhibit an animal. This, however, is not the case at the bespoke event, and is a blatant violation of the Performing Animal Rules, 1973.

Confining  an animal at a social gathering with the sole purpose of display or entertainment is inethical and unnecessary, and has left animal welfare organisations concerned as well as alarmed. Such an act is an offence under Section 11 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 and hence is illegal. As per article 51A (g) of the Constitution of India, it is the duty of every Indian citizen to show compassion to living creatures. Morevover, Article 48 [A] of the Constitution of India provides that the “State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country.”  

Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organizations (FIAPO), has filed a complaint to the Entertainment Society of Goa and Directorate of Film Festivals, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt Of India to intervene in the matter and urge authorities ensure that the horse is removed with due respect from the premises, and is sent back with due safety to the rightful owner, within the purview of the law following the Transportation of Animal Rules, 1978, at the earliest.

FIAPO is India's apex animal rights agency. As the collective voice of the animal rights movement in India, FIAPO is the catalyst that protects the interests of animals on local and national levels – through education, research, lobbying, mobilization, training and direct action. It has 130 members and over 200 supporter organizations across the country.

A brief about FIAPO- the Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations  is India's apex animal protection body. As the collective voice of the animal protection movement in India, FIAPO is the catalyst which protects the interests of animals on a local and national level. Ingraining the ideas that we were formed with, today, we work in collaboration with more than 130 members, 200 supporter organisations and 1,000 individual activists in over 70 cities – hoping to change the lives of animals across the country, through education, research, lobbying, mobilisation, training and direct action.