A Visit from Sangli’s Superintendent of Police
The Animal Rahat staff recognizes the importance of having a good relationship with law enforcement, and this month that relationship grew with a visit from Sangli’s superintendent of police.
Having the police invested in enforcing animal protection laws is critical to Animal Rahat’s mission. Dr. Sudheesh, Rahat’s program manager, presented slides, photos, and displays that illustrated the many examples of violations of the law that the Rahat team commonly encounters.
After discussing all the violations, the Rahat team and Sangli’s police superintendent decided to make two issues the highest priorities for the police. They agreed that the two immediate goals of the police should be the following:
● To confiscate and eliminate the use of yoke spikes—devices made of nails or barbed wire that stab bullocks on their necks and faces if they step too far to the side
● To end the practice of yoking a bullock with a pony to pull a cart (This is a disastrous practice as ponies cannot bear heavy weight on their necks as bullocks can. In addition, the size difference means that the yoke falls at an awkward angle across the animals’ shoulders, causing friction wounds and making the load unbalanced and even harder to pull. Ponies and bullocks also have completely different gaits—their speed and the length of their steps are different, making moving together as a team agonizing to both animals.)
TAGS: animal protection laws, Animal Rahat, Police, Sangli's Superintendent of Police
