nagpur the brutal assault on shaktimaan a police horse by a bjp legislator in dehradun shocked the entire nation while animals are widely being used in processions and parades the incident exposed that cruelties meted to them are commonplace but go unpunished most of the times be it for religious sentiments ageold traditional customs entertainment or getting political mileage especially when animals are a party symbol it goes without saying that animal presence supposedly glorifies the occasion what goes unsaid is how brutally domestic or nondomestic animals are dragged to fulfil somebodys agenda animal welfare board of india awbi officer ashish goswami tells that as per the notification issued by ministry of social justice and empowerment on march 26 2001 the performing animals registration rules 2000 are applicable to all animal owners as per the rules it is mandatory for owners to get all the animals registered and follow the terms and conditions he says however most of the tamed animals in the city are not licenced by their owners there many cases in which an owner is keeping 10 animals against one licence local authorities can easily identify unlicensed animals by checking for microchips but no such efforts are being taken says people for animals pfa city chief karishma galani the illegally owned animals are brought from different parts of the country and that too through illegal means horses are mostly purchased from ahmedabad and surat markets and transported illegally to the city apart from this many are brought from nearby farmhouses where animals are bred illegally says goswami he adds that many animals are bought from owners in uttar pradesh who are using old ownership licences camels and elephants are brought from rajasthan and kerala respectively he says forced to live away from their natural environment the animals undergo immense physical as well as mental stress nikunj sharma government affairs liaison people for the ethical treatment of animals peta says being desert animals camels have soft webbed feet which are meant for walking on sand however when they are brought to urban areas and made to walk on tarred roads it puts immense pressure on their joints in most of the camels it is easy to spot a black mark on their knees which is a sign of joint pain he says though horses are till date used in wedding processions in the name of tradition animal lovers say that no heed is paid to the torture they go though horses are very sensitive to sound and have a hearing sense 10 times more than humans despite this they are closely exposed to firecrackers and dj of more than 50 decibels which put a lot of mental and psychological stress on them says naturalist and animal lover salim ibrahim as per the rules it is also mandatory for the owners to ensure proper watering and feeding halts for the animals something which hardly any owner takes care of says animal activist ankita shah a horse is made