Actor and well-known animal lover John Abraham sent an urgent letter on behalf of Mercy For Animals India Foundation to Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying; Parshottam Rupala urging him to prohibit the manufacture, sale, and use of gestation and farrowing crates in pig farms, in compliance with The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here.
“Pigs endure repeated impregnation and extreme confinement in gestation crates”, writes Abraham in the letter. “Unable to move, they suffer bone degeneration. Many display abnormal behaviours, such as constantly biting their crates’ metal bars”.
This isn’t the first time Abraham has used his stardom to speak up for animals. In 2021, he appeared in a Mercy For Animals public service ad encouraging people to “be nice to animals”.
“Pigs are considered the fifth-most intelligent animal in the world—even more intelligent than dogs”, said Nikunj Sharma, CEO of Mercy For Animals India Foundation. “Despite this, pregnant pigs are confined in gestation crates—cages so small that they are unable to turn around. It is time the government banned the use of gestation and farrowing crates in India”.
Gestation crates are metal enclosures that confine pigs used for breeding during pregnancy. These crates cramp pigs so tightly that they cannot even turn around, let alone do anything that is natural to them. Farrowing crates, where the pigs bear their litters, are just as restrictive. Gestation crates are in violation of Section 11(1)(e) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, which states that it is cruelty and a punishable offense if anyone “keeps or confines any animal in any cage or other receptacle which does not measure sufficiently in height, length and breadth to permit the animal a reasonable opportunity for movement”.
A right-to-information response furnished by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research National Research Centre on Pigs states that gestation and farrowing crates severely prohibit movement and hence violate Section 11(1)(e) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, making their use illegal. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research referred to a demi-official letter, dated January 2014, to all Veterinary Universities and the National Research Centre on Pigs advising against the use of gestation crates in universities or research facilities. Additionally, the Directorate of Animal Husbandry, Punjab, issued directives to district officers to ensure that no gestation crates were used in the state.
