Target: Bhupender Yadav, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India
Goal: Direct urgent, nationwide enforcement against reportedly cruel captivity, abusive wildlife tourism, and factory-farm neglect that allegedly inflicts suffering and risks public health.
Reports from the past year describe captive animals deteriorating in zoos, elephants forced to give rides despite clear welfare red flags, and factory-farmed animals confined in barren spaces while routinely exposed to antibiotics for productivity. These accounts point to long-term neglect, chronic stress, malnourishment, untreated illness, and practices that may fuel antimicrobial resistance. The cumulative picture suggests systems failing the very beings they claim to protect.
Animal advocates further highlight widespread trade in exotic pets, with animals shipped in cramped conditions, denied basic care, and sold into lives of deprivation. Wildlife entertainment venues are also accused of staging photo ops and rides that rely on coercion and deprivation. Such practices appear to ignore core duties under Indian animal protection laws and global welfare norms.
Sustained enforcement is essential. India’s laws and policy tools exist, yet alleged violations persist because oversight is fragmented and penalties are too rare to deter repeat harm. This petition calls for coordinated action to investigate the reported abuses, prosecute credible cases, suspend or shut non-compliant facilities, drive down non-therapeutic antibiotic use in animal agriculture in line with AMR policy, and end captive-wildlife attractions that cannot meet humane standards.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Minister Yadav,
We urge your office to lead an immediate, coordinated response to systemic animal cruelty in captivity, wildlife tourism, and intensive farming. Recent accounts describe emaciated zoo animals, elephants worked for rides while exhibiting distress, and factory-farmed animals confined without meaningful enrichment or care.
We ask you to direct MoEFCC and allied agencies to investigate these allegations, file charges where evidence supports them, and suspend or close non-compliant facilities. Please coordinate with the Ministries of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Health and Family Welfare, and Tourism to enforce existing welfare rules, curb non-therapeutic antibiotic use consistent with AMR strategy, and end wildlife-as-entertainment offerings that cannot meet humane benchmarks.
We further request mandatory third-party welfare audits for zoos and captive-wildlife venues, public reporting of outcomes, lifetime bans for repeat offenders, and rapid-response tasking to dismantle exotic-pet trafficking pipelines. These measures would protect animals, safeguard public health, and align India with modern conservation ethics.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: Pixabay
