Pune: Humane World For Animals India Demands Action From Collector After Donkeys Forced To Pull SUV
Pune: Humane World For Animals India Demands Action From Collector After Donkeys Forced To Pull SUV
Pune, November 21, 2025 – Animal protection organization, Humane World for Animals India, (formerly Humane Society International/India) has written to the Pune District Collector seeking urgent action after a disturbing incident from Pune surfaced on social media.
The video shows two donkeys harnessed to a Mahindra Thar and forced to pull the vehicle, weighing between 1,660 kg and 1,845 kg, along a public road – subjecting them to extreme strain and violating multiple animal laws.
In its letter, the organization highlighted that under the Draught and Pack Animals Rules, 1965, notified under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960, donkeys are legally classified only as pack animals and may carry a maximum of 50 kg.
In this incident, the animals were made to drag over 30 times their lawful limit, leaving them visibly strained, unstable and distressed.
Alokparna Sengupta, managing director of Humane World for Animals India condemned the act as archaic, unnecessary and abusive. “As a nation that prides itself on innovation, we cannot allow acts that drag us back to an era where animals were exploited for labour. Progress means leaving cruelty behind, not staging it for attention and viral content. Such regressive displays not only normalize cruelty but also undermine the values of compassion enshrined in our Constitution.”
