Mumbai: A number of national celebrities have added their names to a petition calling on the controller of rationing to ban the use of bullocks to pull heavy oil carts through the streets of Mumbai.

The petition, which was introduced by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India, has garnered support from the likes of Akshaye Khanna, Rahul Khanna, Raveena Tandon, Eesha Koppikar, Arjun Rampal, Rahul Dev, Avanti Birla and Sandiip Sikcand.

Following PETA’s complaints, even the oil companies have issued letters to the controller of rationing through the Maharashtra state level coordinator R.K. Panda of Bharat Petroleum, asking for bullock-pulled oil carts to be discontinued. Now even Justice C S Dharmadhikari, the chairman of the Committee to Monitor Animal Welfare Laws in Maharashtra, has asked the controller what action he plans to take.

The following are just some of the abuses that PETA’s investigation documented:

·        The bullocks are stationed on the main street opposite the Sewree Railway Station. They stand for hours without shelter, and they’re exposed to burning sun and all other weather extremes. They are not provided with adequate food or water.

·        Injured and sick bullocks receive no veterinary care, even though they are forced to continue pulling heavy kerosene tankers.

·        The bullocks are kept in miserable, unhygienic conditions. They’re tethered on heaps of dung, urine and muck.

·        The bullocks – and the filth they are forced to live in – encroach on an area of the street which is supposed to be used by the public.

"Forcing these neglected and abused bullocks to pull oil tankers through city streets is outdated and cruel," says PETA India chief functionary Anuradha Sawhney. "Along with our many celebrity friends and the oil companies themselves, we are calling on the controller of rationing to stop such blatant abuse at once."