Hyderabad: Madras Talkies booked after horse dies during `Ponniyin Selvan' shooting

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India, in a statement on Thursday said, based on whistle-blower reports, the horse was involved in a head-on collision and died during the shooting of the film in Hyderabad.

The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) also called on the Hyderabad Collector and the Telangana State Animal Welfare Board to conduct an inquiry into the death. It also asked officials to ensure that those involved in the incident receive exemplary punishment so that such cruelty against animals are not repeated.

The incident had taken place on August 11 and the FIR was registered on August 18. Abdullapurmet police had booked a case against the management of Madras Talkies and the owner of the horse under Section 11 of the PCA Act, 1960, and Section 429 of the Indian Penal Code. The owner is reported to have allowed producers of the film to keep using horses that were tired and dehydrated.

The AWBI is the prescribed authority under The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960, which authorizes the use of animals in films. The AWBI also asked officials to ensure that the culprits receive "exemplary punishment" so that such crimes do not happen in the future.

Abdullapurmet police of Rachakonda also registered a case against the management of Madras Talkies and the owner of the horse under Section 11 of the PCA Act, 1960, and Section 429 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

"In the age of computer-generated imagery (CGI), production companies have no excuse for forcing exhausted horses to play at war until one of them drops dead," PETA India Chief Advocacy Officer Khushboo Gupta said.

PETA further noted that compassionate, forward-thinking filmmakers would never dream of hauling sensitive animals to a chaotic movie set and forcing them to act. "We are calling on director Mani Ratnam to cut the cruelty and switch to modern and humane CGI and other visual effects technology," Gupta said.

PETA India urged film, advertising, television, and digital content producers to use CGI, visual effects, and animatronics instead of forcing live animals to perform. "Animals used in the entertainment industry are typically separated from their mothers as infants, beaten or starved during training, forced to perform confusing or dangerous tricks, chained or kept in intense confinement when not used, and subjected to the chaos of film and television studios," PETA said.