PETA for ban on glass-coated manja used in flying kites

New Delhi: The animal rights organisation, People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), has asked the Delhi Police to take a cue from their counterparts in Mumbai which has banned production and sale of glass-coated manja used in flying kites as they pose a threat to birds.

"Flying kites with manja is definitely no fun when birds become entangled and fatally injured by the deadly glass string," Mr Ashish Verma, a PETA activist, said in a letter to the Delhi police commissioner, Mr Y.S. Dadwal.

"By banning production and sale of manja, Mumbai has taken a commendable action to save lives," he said referring to a recent circular issued by the Mumbai police commissioner, Mr D. Sivanandan.

Glass-coated manja is deadly to thousands of pigeons, crows, owls and other birds who become entangled in it in the sky. The birds' wings are often severed, leading to their agonising death, he said.