Enforce the Ban on Using Bullocks to Pull Oil Carts!

Hundreds of bullocks are currently used to transport kerosene from oil ports in Sewri, Wadala and Mulund to different rationing stations in the city. Most of the animals are underfed and undernourished, and many suffer from untreated illnesses or injuries. They are forced to work to exhaustion, pulling heavy loads through all weather extremes. Motorists who encounter bullocks in the street are put at risk of dangerous traffic accidents. On 30 September 2008, the Ministry of Food, Civil Supply and Consumer Protection made the decision to end the use of bullocks to transport kerosene in Mumbai by 31 March 2009. It was subsequently decided that bullock cart owners would be given three-wheel auto rickshaws for transporting kerosene. However, the ban has not yet been enforced, and hundreds of bulls are still suffering. In a goodwill effort to jump-start the programme, PETA India founder Ingrid E Newkirk recently travelled to India from the US to donate an auto rickshaw to one owner of a bullock-drawn cart in exchange for allowing his beleaguered bull to be sent to a sanctuary. Let's speak up for bulls and demand the immediate implementation of the ban. You Can Help Please ask the Ministry of Food, Civil Supply and Consumer Protection to implement the ban on the use of bullocks for transporting kerosene immediately.