³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

Painting ponies at parties has grown increasingly popular with young people but now campaigners are calling for the trend to stop.

The parties involve painting horses and ponies in bright colours with non-toxic paints.

Party organisers say that the painting is harmless and that horses enjoy the contact, but animal rights activists say it's cruel to animals.

A petition to stop the painting parties now has over 130,000 signatures.

Pony painting parties offer children the chance to paint or draw on animals with colourful non-toxic paint and chalk.

Lots of young people love horses and decorating the ponies with stencils and glitter may seem like a really fun activity.

However, animal rights groups like the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) are concerned that the ponies are not being treated kindly.

They believe that decorating animals' coats in this way is degrading and cruel.

Campaigners are also concerned about the safety of the animals, and how young people might be influenced to try and do the same thing to other animals in unsafe environments.

Experts on horse welfare are divided on the issue.

Lucy Grieve from the British Equine Veterinary Association - equine means horse - says that vets use chalk to mark areas of horses' bodies and learn about their anatomy.

She says "as long as the paints don't cause any harm to the animal, there doesn't seem to be any cause for concern."

However, Gemma Stanford from the British Horse Society says, "we would not encourage the excessive use of paint for pure entertainment purposes."