Death of a horse in entertainment invites trouble in India

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Rajasthan's Bishnoi community furious over death of horse during film

shooting

 

By ANI

Sunday January 28, 06:22 PM

Agneyu (Rajasthan), Jan 28 (ANI): Several members of the Bishnoi

Community, known for their passionate love for animals, are up in

arms against the shooting of 'Drona' starring Abhishek Bachchan and

Priyanka Chopra after the death of a horse during shooting.

 

The community alleged " negligence " on the part of Bollywood crew

during shooting, which resulted in a horse's death reportedly due to

overwork.

 

Villagers of Agneyu, where the filming of the movie is taking place,

said the horse was part of at least 50 other horses involved in the

film shoot.

 

" The horse was not treated well during the shooting, which resulted

in his death. We were present there at the time and about fifty

horses were involved in the shoot, " said Sugandh Singh, a resident of

Agneyu, adding that the horse died soon after bleeding from its nose.

 

Denying allegations of negligence, owner of the horse Shailendra

Rathore said the incident was being unduly publicized as it involved

high-profile Bollywood actors.

 

" The horse died due to a stomach ache and nothing else. What do these

people know? They were not even present there. It was my horse, and

it's my loss. They are coming here because they will get publicity,

nothing else. If he had died at home, would they have come? This is

only to gain publicity during the time of the shooting. " said

Shailendra Rathore, owner of the horse.

 

Animal activists, however, are not ready to buy the argument.

 

" The horse was probably made to do a lot of work. Usually these

animals don't die so easily. Probably, it was not even given food.

Even under law, this is cruelty to animals. The administration must

file a case against the guilty for this incident. They should also

get a postmortem done, " said Birbal Bishnoi, an animal rights

activist.

 

The Bishnois are one of the few Tribal communities who love and

worshipnimals and are conscious about protecting the environment.

 

Over the centuries, hundreds of members of the community have

sacrificed their lives in protecting trees and animals from being

killed or sacrificed.

 

Bishnoi, which means 29 in local parlance, refers to the 29

commandments given by the presiding deity. Among their most important

commandments is the protection of God's creations, including trees

and animals. (ANI)