After being alerted to a social media account, posting numerous videos depicting forced fights between pit bull dogs, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India has filed a formal complaint in Ghaziabad.

PETA India’s research revealed that the videos originated in Loni, Ghaziabad. Subsequently, a first information report (FIR) was registered against three owners and organisers of the fights with the Ankur Vihar Police Station under Sections 34, 289, 336, and 429 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, as well as sections 3 and 11(1)(a) of The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960.

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PETA India has urged the police to locate the dogs used for fighting and to protect them from further exploitation and suffering.

“PETA India commends Ghaziabad’s Deputy Commissioner of Police (Rural) Vivek Chandra Yadav for swiftly directing the Ankur Vihar Police Station to register the FIR and for sending the message that cruelty to animals will not be tolerated,” said PETA India Cruelty Response Coordinator Sunayana Basu in a statement here on Monday.

“Pit bulls bred for fighting suffer immensely. We also commend the Centre for acting to stop the sale, breeding, and keeping of pit bulls and other foreign dog breeds deliberately bred for aggression and commonly used for illegal fighting and attack.”

Inciting dogs to fight is illegal under the PCA Act, 1960. Yet organised dogfights are becoming prevalent in parts of India, especially North India. Pit bulls are chosen because they’re among the “bully breeds”, which were originally bred for bull baiting and bear baiting and are now used for dogfighting. Pit bull-type dogs are among the most abused breeds on the planet because they are typically kept only for dogfighting or as guard or attack dogs, compelled to endure a miserable life at the end of a chain. They are typically trained with violence and neglected, making them fearful and defensive.

Recently, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Joint Secretary Dr OP Chaudhary sent a letter to the chief secretaries of all states and union territories urging the local departments of animal husbandry to ensure that no licences or permissions be issued for the sale, breeding, or keeping of pit bulls or other breeds deliberately bred for aggression and commonly used for illegal fighting and attack.

Prohibiting the import of such dog breeds has also been recommended by an expert committee of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying chaired by the commissioner of animal husbandry. PETA India applauded the decision and hoped that all state governments will adhere to the Centre’s recommendations.