With lifeless horse outside Rajiv Chowk Metro, PETA Stages Protest Against Drug trails on animals

New Delhi: In the midst of World Week for Animals in Laboratories, a sick and injured “horse” lie lifeless on the street outside the Rajiv Chowk metro station on Wednesday. During the protest, members of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India displayed signs calling on the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to end the tremendous suffering of horses used by antitoxin producers.

Every year, thousands of horses are used as living factories to produce antitoxins. They are repeatedly injected with toxins and bled frequently to make these drugs. A series of inspections carried out by a team ofexpertsauthorised by the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI)documented that equines at the facilities examined were malnourished and anaemic, hadbleeding and unattended wounds and injuries, and suffered from poor dental care, digestive tract issues, diseased hooves, and skin diseases such as ringworm. Many were forced to stand in their own excreta. Seriously ill animals were left to die slowly without the reliefof euthanasia or proper veterinary care.

Speaking to Ten News, PETA Volunteer  Dr. Rohit Said, “Antitoxin producers use horses as living blood bags while leaving them to endureslow, miserable deaths from untreated illnesses, injuries, and infections. This World Week for Animals in Laboratories, PETA India is calling on the government to ensure that these suffering horses receive the veterinary and rehabilitative care that they desperately need and to transition to non-animal methods of drug production.”

Last year, the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA) suspended the experimentation license of Chennai-based Mediclone Biotech Pvt Ltd, one of the facilities implicated in AWBI’s report for having poor animal health and improper care and housing conditions. However, horses still remain in dire conditions there,” added Dr. Rohit.