Delhi HC asks Animal Welfare Board to conduct survey on animals in circuses

Concerned about the welfare of animals, Delhi HC directed Animal Welfare Board of India to carry out a nationwide survey to find out whether the circuses, which were unable to perform during the COVID-19 lockdown, could sustain the animals.

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) to carry out a nationwide survey to find out whether the circuses, which are unable to perform during the COVID-19 lockdown, can sustain the animals.

A division bench of Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Rajnish Bhatnagar also asked the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Central Zoo Authority and AWBI to file their responses.

The High Court directed the AWBI to conduct a survey and submit a status report. The matter is now listed for further hearing on August 14.

The direction has come on a petition filed by the Federation for Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO) seeking the rescue of animals used in circuses amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and challenging their use under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.

The petition, filed by advocates Ambuj Agrawal and Asmita Singh and FIAPO, was represented by senior advocate Dayan Krishnan.

In the petition, FIAPO prayed for a direction to the respondents to formulate an appropriate scheme for the rescue, rehabilitation and relocation of all animals once they are rescued from circuses.

FIAPO Executive Director Varda Mehrotra said in a press release that using animals for performing tricks in circuses is abusive and painful for animals. "These animals are suppressed from their fundamental rights like freedom from fear and distress or freedom from expressing normal patterns of behaviour," Mehrotra said.

Mehrotra also said that the situation has become worse amid the pandemic and sought the end of the use of animals in circuses.

The petitioners pointed out that circuses, in which animals perform tricks, often use wild animals including elephants, hippopotamus, and exotic birds. Animals are very often used without requisite paperwork certifying their fitness, the plea said.

"Investigations show animals being chained and tied up for several hours each day, made to perform several shows without proper rest, trained using negative reinforcement with instruments like metal rods, wooden sticks, whips and outdated and barbaric tools like hooks and spiked belts," the plea added.

Since 2015, FIAPO, with its member organisations and volunteers, has rescued more than 150 animals from 13 circuses across India through a campaign `End Circus Suffering'.

It has mobilised 114 activists from 45 organisations across 18 states.

(ANI report)