Stop Traumatizing Young Animals with Yoga

Target: Robert Goodwill, Chair of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee

Goal: Amend animal welfare laws to include yoga-based practices.

Puppies are reportedly being taken from their mothers at increasingly younger ages, deprived of water and sleep, and manhandled into unnatural body poses for hours on end in hot environments. So finds an extensive investigation from the United Kingdom’s (UK) top animal welfare agency: the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA). Where is this seeming cruelty taking place and being celebrated on many social media outlets? It’s reportedly unfolding in the rising number of yoga studios that use and exploit animals to make a profit.

Yoga-with-animals classes are happening with mostly young subjects ranging from goats to kittens and puppies. The animals are often purchased from breeders or pet shops (usually well before the recommended age for parental separation) and essentially used as live props in yoga classes. Attendees of the classes are given no special instructions or training in how to properly interact with these animals. Instead, the emphasis seems to be exclusively on the entertainment of the attendees.

Animal welfare advocates, in response to the investigation, have called on the UK Parliament to add these dangerous practices to current animal welfare laws. Sign the petition below to join in the calls for protection that prioritize the most innocent living beings.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Sir Goodwill,

A recent investigation conducted by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has yielded troubling findings regarding the trend of animal yoga. Puppies were allegedly kept in confined spaces without access to water, routinely woken from sleep to “perform,” and mishandled and traumatized by both instructors and yoga class students. While these attendees may have come away with a few TikTok images, the animals left behind seemingly continue to be exploited and deprived of a normal and healthy life.

Please honor the pleas of the RSPCA, the Kennel Club, and countless individuals concerned about the welfare of these innocents. Incorporate strong guidelines and—if necessary—bans on animal yoga into the United Kingdom’s animal welfare laws. Let the UK lead the way for the rest of the world in ensuring the protection of each and every animal.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo Credit: Erhar Yaksaa