mumbai following reports that a poultry farmer buried thousands of birds alive in anticipation of business losses because of the drastic reduction in meat consumption caused by coronavirus fear people for the ethical treatment of animals peta india fired off a letter to the department of animal husbandry and dairying of maharashtra asking it to issue directions immediately to stop the use of cruel and illegal methods of killing unwanted birds to ensure that animals do not experience unnecessary distress pain and suffering the group is urging the department to promote the use of methods for the mass killing of animals recommended by the animal welfare board of india awbi the central governments advisory body and the world organisation for animal health oie the intergovernmental authority responsible for improving animal health worldwide of which india is a memberthe group cautions that crude killing methods such as burying birds alive are apparent violations of sections 3 and 11 of the prevention of cruelty to animals pca act 1960 and section 429 of the indian penal code which are punishable by imprisonment of up to five years a fine or boththe group is also urging the central government to issue directives to state governments and union territories requiring them to prohibit the cruel methods that are currently used by hatcheries to kill unwanted male chicks and by poultry farms to kill birds including crushing drowning burning and burying the animals as they violate the pca act 1960 and the indian penal codethe gruesome killing of thousands of chickens simply because they wont generate a profit is cruel and must be stopped says peta india ceo and veterinarian dr manilal valliyate this farmers barbaric act is a stark reminder for the public that whether theyre buried alive or their throats are slit chickens are always killed cruelly and that poultry farms are breeding grounds for bird flu and other diseases chickens used for eggs are commonly mutilated starved and intensely confined while those used for meat are kept in filthy sheds and bred to grow so large that they often break bones and suffer heart attacks we urge the public to spare chickens misery and safeguard their own health by always choosing to eat vegana slow death by suffocation through a live burial causes birds unnecessary pain and suffering the awbi issued advisories in 2012 and 2014 regarding the adoption of oie guidelines for the mass killing of animals for disease control purposes as india is a member of the oie and animal husbandry is a state matter under the indian constitution all state governments are obliged to adhere to the guidelines under chapter 76 of the oie terrestrial animal health code the code states that these general principles should also apply when animals are killed in other situations such as after natural disasters or to cull their populations