Animal protection organisation, Humane World for Animals India (formerly Humane Society International/India) has written to the Pune District Collector seeking urgent action after a disturbing incident from Pune surfaced on social media. The video shows two donkeys harnessed to a Mahindra Thar being forced to pull the vehicle, weighing between 1,660 kg and 1,845 kg, along a public road, subjecting them to extreme strain and violating multiple animal laws.
In its letter, the organisation highlighted that under the Draught and Pack Animals Rules, 1965, notified under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960, donkeys are legally classified only as pack animals and may carry a maximum of 50 kg. In this incident, the animals were made to drag over 30 times their lawful limit, leaving them visibly strained, unstable and distressed.
Alokparna Sengupta, managing director of Humane World for Animals India, condemned the act as archaic, unnecessary and abusive. "As a nation that prides itself on innovation, we cannot allow acts that drag us back to an era where animals were exploited for labour. Progress means leaving cruelty behind, not staging it for attention and viral content. Such regressive displays not only normalise cruelty but also undermine the values of compassion enshrined in our Constitution.”
The letter mentioned that animals involved in live demonstrations are subject to coercion, stress and abuse, and are not to be used as visual or symbolic extensions of our messaging. Even the Election Commission of India, in its Model Code of Conduct advisory, has expressly prohibited the use of animals in campaigning, even prohibiting a party, having reserved symbols, from making a live demonstration of that animal in any election campaign. Yet, an individual in Pune has subjected donkeys to an unlawful live demonstration, without regard for their welfare or dignity.
This conduct requires urgent intervention. The animal welfare requested to direct the SPCA and the jurisdictional police to identify the individuals involved, secure a veterinary assessment of the donkeys, register a case for violation of Section 11(1)(a), 11(1)(b) and Section 38 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960, read with the Draught and Pack Animals Rules 1965 and Section 100, and Section 119 of the Maharashtra Police Act 1951.
