Dehradun, Apr 10 (PTI) The proprietors of a circus company have been booked in Uttarakhand's Roorkee for allegedly clipping the wings of birds, officials said on Thursday.
The FIR against Asiad Circus was registered under provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita on the basis of a complaint lodged by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India on Wednesday, Assistant Superintendent of Police Kush Mishra said.
In the complaint, the proprietors of Asiad Circus have been accused of mutilating birds by clipping their wings.
"The Asiad Circus, currently camped at Lal Kurti Cantonment, Roorkee, is using non-native endangered wild birds for performances, namely macaws and cockatoos which have been mutilated by clipping their wings," according to the PETA India complaint, lodged by its cruelty response coordinator Virendra Singh.
The complaint was lodged after PETA India representatives watched a show on April 6.
"The birds were subjected to significant stress during the shows. They displayed obvious signs of distress, flapping their wings in panic and attempting to escape during the acts," Singh said in the complaint.
He also said clipping their wings had rendered the birds unable to fly as they naturally and normally would.
This is not the first time Asiad Circus has been accused of animal welfare violations, he added.
In 2024, a bird died from a cat bite, possibly after its clipped wings left it unable to escape, Singh alleged.
"Asiad Circus has demonstrated a disturbing pattern of cruelty and disregard for animal protection laws," he said and added circuses should use innovative performances featuring consenting adult human acrobats, innovative costumes, modern digital projections and mechanical animals.