Backgrounder on animal laws in India:
“The greatness of a nation is judged by the way it treats its animals”, said Mahatma Gandhi once as he was leading India through the country’s fight for independence from the colonial rulers. But long before animal activism became a global movement and animal laws were enacted in India in their present form, there are pointers that India as a nation has revered nature, its flora and fauna. The earliest laws of conservation date back to as early as 3rd Century B.C when Emperor Ashoka had banned killing and hunting of all animals in his kingdom. Images depicted in ancient Indian art and wall carvings, the notes and stories mentioned in Indian scriptures and fables like Panchatantra and Hitopdesha, all of these reflect the ethos of conservation and reverence for animals. But as India moves ahead in the rat-race for being a developed country, morals and ethos are being left behind and superseded by an insensitivity and egotistical attitude that is hard to comprehend.
Stand up against Cruelty to Animals
To read the article in Hindi please click here, हर तरफ इंसान है, तबाही है
“Unseen they suffer, unheard they cry
In Agony they linger, in loneliness they die
Does it mean anything to you or anyone who passes by?”
These words penned above epitomize the pain, the suffering that millions of animals endure at the hand of humans every single day.
Though killing or torturing humans is considered to be a crime instantaneously, many amongst us perhaps pay mute witnesses to incidences of animal cruelty happening all around us. The fact is that laws do exist in this country of ours for protection of cruelty towards animals. The main laws are The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 and the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. However few people and even fewer policemen and lawyers are aware of these laws and in the wake of human ignorance on these laws, animals are helpless and fall victims to needs and deeds of humans.
Overloading donkeys with bricks, exhausting the elephant and camels with over riding in a a mela or at a tourist spot, whipping the horse and the bullock pulling the tonga or the cart, stuffing the cages with chickens in your local meat shop, transporting cattle and livestock one on top of the other in trucks while being taken to slaughterhouses or even treating your pet with neglect- not providing him food or water or chaining him in the sun, killing, maiming beating an animal…each of these acts is an act of animal cruelty under either Section 11 or Section 12 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960 (PCA Act 1960).
PCA Act is a Central Act and is in force throughout the country/Indian territory. There are many rules drafted within this act that look into usage of animals in films i.e performing animal rules, transport of animals rules, rules for prevention of cruelty to draught and farm animals and many more. Though in terms of penal provisions these laws are still weak and in urgent need to be reformed, but that will only happen when public wants or asks for it as the animals themselves will never be able to do so, contrary to the activists who fight battles for laws to protect tribal rights or gay rights for that matter!
Many of you would have seen an overloaded mules or an overloaded bullock/horse cart on the roads every day. Most people prefer to ignore that sight but even when the very few who are aware of animal cruelty laws objects to the ‘owner’ of the animal being ill-treated to not to inflict their animal with cruelty, generally the owner objects loudly in retaliation! The reason behind this marked indifference on part of the ‘owner’ towards the pain and suffering of their very own animal is “because humans treat animals as ‘commodities’ and ‘machines’, something that they have purchased and they now ‘own’…something that they are within their rights to both, use as well as abuse!”, says Anjali Sharma, a senior advocate representing Animal Welfare Board of India.
Below is a list of what every citizen should do when they see someone inflicting cruelty upon animals:
1. Complain to the local state SPCA (Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals)/Animal Welfare Organisations working in your area, though as an entity an NGO can’t enforce the law, but they can put you in touch with an animal activist who deals in filing complaints and bringing attention to such matters with legal or media-based intervention. Importantly, Animal welfare Organisations and Animal hospitals can be contacted to provide relief to the suffering animal.
2. Contact the Police: On a national level, Police are the major enforcement body for the PCA Act 1960. They are obliged to take action against the offender and render help to the suffering animals as per the procedure outlined in the PCA Act when the offence against the animal is amongst those listed in Section 11 or 12 of the PCA Act. Police are even obliged to extend help to the enforcement staff of SPCA as well as ordinary citizens to lodge a complaint/FIR against an incident of animal cruelty. If the Police doesn’t adhere to your complaint, you can also contact the magistrate directly with a written complaint.
One can also lodge a complaint under Section 428 and 429 of the Indian Penal Code of 1860 under which, ‘mischief of killing or maiming an animal amounts to an offence’ and the offender can be imprisoned for upto five years or a fine or both.
3. Know the law: for example a donkey should be loaded with only 35 kgs of weight at one time; the permissible loading capacity of a truck is 4 buffaloes or 40 sheep/goats. Anything over and above it is technically illegal under the law.
Learn to make a distinction of cognizable and non-cognizable offences outlined in the PCA act 1960. Section 43 of Criminal Procedure Code empowers every citizen the right to perform a ‘citizen’s arrest’ i.e the right to arrest a person who has committed in their presence a ‘cognizable’ offence, an offence for which the offender can be arrested without a warrant.
Cognizable offences under PCA Act 1962 include the following:
a) Under Section 12 of the PCA Act, 1962, injecting oxytocin injections to cows/milch animals, to improve lactation/milk-giving capacity – which is injurious to health of the animal or permitting such operation to be performed by any other person on the animal he/she ‘owns’ is a cognizable offence. However, this may be one of the most common things that you see used by local legal/illegal dairy owners throughout the country.
b) Under Section 11(1)(l), mutilating or killing any animal, including stray dogs by using poisoning methods or any other unnecessarily cruel means
c) Under Section 11(1)(n) organizing/keeping/using any place for animal fighting/baiting and receiving money on the same.
d) Under Section 11(1)(o), promoting or taking part in any shooting match or competition wherein animals are released from captivity for the purpose of shooting/killing.
4. Documentation is the ‘Key’: In your complaint, be as factual and precise of your observation of the animal crime. Give precise dates, times, locations and photographic evidence if any (while remembering to keep a photocopy with yourself). You are also advised to keep a record of all the officers you are interacting with so that if they don’t listen you can proceed to the next level in the hierarchy to demand justice for the animal/s you are fighting for. Getting a vet’s certificate for the animal in consideration would also prove to be good documentary and supporting evidence.
When reporting animal cruelty, we should look out for the following: Physical condition of the animal, telltale signs of animal cruelty, cruelty during their training and practice, housing (size of cages), overcrowding, mode of transportation, sanitation and hygiene.
5. Stand up, speak up against injustice. Never give up, keep up the effort!
The Indian Constitution, also, under Article 51 A (g) imposes upon every Indian Citizen a fundamental duty to have compassion for all living creatures. But, from subjecting animals to meaningless experiments in cosmetic-testing laboratories to killing one animal in front of the other in an illegal slaughterhouse, from holding cockfights to boiling monitor lizards alive to extract oil from their bodies, mankind does it all and that too shamelessly. It is for us who are aware and informed to keep our comforts aside momentarily and become the voice for these mute, speechless animals as they wage their lonely hopeless battle against the all powerful ‘man’.
What makes cruelty to animals morally unpardonable and unacceptable, over and above human cruelty? Humans can still protest against cruelty meted out to them, they have a voice to raise alarm, hands to hit back. The animals sadly don’t have those options either, so in effect they are defenseless in the face of the cruelty humans mete out to them, be it for their own pleasure, benefit or to fulfill their sadistic desires!
Fyodor Dostoevsky once said that, “no animal could ever be as cruel as a man, so artfully, so artistically cruel.” One would agree to it as Advocate Anjali Sharma concludes, “Perhaps humans are the worst animals ever born on this planet”.
“I don’t believe in the concept of hell, but if I did, I think it would be filled with humans who are cruel to animals”- Gary Larson
Text: ’Jaagruti’
I love only animals and abhor those that treat them cruelly like the guard in this story: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/noida-guard-tries-to-silence-barking-dog-w/537346/
Well I do not typically comment on weblogs but I came across yours while I was doing a bit of work researching in Bing today therefore i figured I might shoot a quick note. Obviously I have gotten a tad sidetracked after sticking around to browse a few of your articles. Carry on the excellent writing and i am already looking forward to checking out future posts. Many thanks!
Excellent article.
We would like to use it as well for our magazine which caters to animal lovers.
We condemn such act and try to inform our readers of the same from time to time in our magazine.
Thank you. Please attribute credit to Jaagruti and the author.
Also let us know the name of your magazine and kindly send us the copy of the same (a scanned copy would be fine as well- to jaagrutiindia@gmail.com). Thanks
Thank you.We got much needed information from the article.Certainly will make use of the act against people indulged in cruelty to animal.If there is any magzine related with the subject kindly send the address for subscription.
Thank you Sir. You could order/subscribe to AWBI’s (Animal Welfare Board of India’s )publications by filling the subscription form available on this link http://awbi.org/index.php?q=node/45, they come out with an English magazine called ‘Animal Citizen’ and a Hindi magazine called ‘Jeev Saarthi’ besides newsletters on a monthly basis.
thankyou so much i got so much help from ur article for my project work.
Glad to hear that Komal.
good morning mam
just happen to see your site.its really nice and informative.
regards
rashmi
Dear mam, can you inform me where to send complaint of the cruelty in the slaughtering house in kerala which i had seen in the facebook by one of my friend
Try your luck by sending it to AWBI-The Animal Welfare Board of India- http://www.awbi.org
thanks alot i really love animals as i was not known to law i just fought with the people who beats and tortures street dogs.now because of your site i will make punish those who trotures animals..thnks alot.madhvi
The Secretary of Port Blair Municipal Council frames had hikes the charges of cattle pound with a new rule that if a cattle is been impounded then the charges for releasing the cow will be Rs. 500 + 100 for per day feeding charges for 7 days compulsory, whereas the earlier charges was Rs. 250 with no feeding charges and can be released at any time by paying the penalty. But the new policy says that if cattle impounded then it will be in the cattle pound for 7 days compulsory and moreover there is no provision of providing feeding and clean drinking water in the cattle pound.
My 3yrs. Old Calf has been impounded in the cattle pound, 2days back, (i.e on 07.4.2012) near to my house at nayagaon Port Blair, when we gone to release him, they denied to release by saying the secreary Municipal council told to keppt all animals verbally to kept for 7 days without any written order,for which Rs. 250 for Calf and per day feeding charges of 7 days has to be paid. Isn’t this ridiculous. No logic to give punishment to animals as they r unware of it.
sanjay
Port Blair
amazing site,,,god bless you for your love and kindness to animals
James
United States
Thank you James
Heart touching lines.we all born being a man but not yet became a human. we think the almighty has created us for us…certainly not it is but has created us protect His all creatures. i vowed to do something for the welfare of other creatures of god .
Hi all, be a newbie on this site i would like to share a tragic incident with you that took place just 2 days back in my hometown in my absence. Actually i m in new delhi now and my hometown is in himachal pradesh. As you all know the winters are on its full and people are shivering these days. During this season all the shepherds from high hill areas comes to plain areas to avoid the worst seasonal situation that arises due to high snowfall on peaks. Thus few shephered were also residing near our houses in open farms with their cattles and sheeps. In the same locality a 2.5 year old bitch used to live with her 2 little puppies of around 1.5 months old(frankly they were very sweet). And the worst thing happened when the very next day when i came to delhi from hometown. I just shocked upon hearing the tragic or you can say the brutal killing of those little puppies along with their mother. You cant believe i am writing this mail with tears in eyes. Upon examining here and there from reliable sources i found that those shephereds had poisoned them by keepiing the probability of them(dogs) hurting their sheeps and cattles. This is totaly beyond humanity and had arouse sadness all around me and my friends, neighbours. Can anyone suggest me here what should be done to teach them a rigid or solid lesson. Please reply soon as i am waiting four your opinions………….
Please lodge a complaint against these people under the Indian Penal Code Sections 428 and 429 as you have read on this article: Under Section 428 and 429 of the Indian Penal Code of 1860, ‘mischief of killing or maiming an animal amounts to an offence’ and the offender can be imprisoned for upto five years or a fine or both.
I came across this wonderful article looking for some help against animal’s cruelty. i am fed up of fighting / arguing with people i dont even know..cant believe how mean we human can be to these innocent & helpless animals..is there any way we can stop this..am totally freaked & upset with what i witnessed today..and just cant get over it..anyway..pls help me with some numbers in kolkata where i can contact for help against cruelty to animals..pls help..
Thanks. In Kolkata, you may try contacting http://www.animalcrusaders.org/office.html and see if they are willing to guide/help you anyways.
Dear Jaagruti
while this article is very informative and an eye opener to those who dont know much about laws preventing animal cruelty-i am sorry to say that no one really comes forward when contacted-i am an animal lover and care for some street dogs near my home, sometimes others also come by, but being territorial in nature-the dogs presently there-dont allow outsiders to stay.
now the point is how do you educate a bunch of ignorant animal haters. i face so much abuse and disgust from my neighbours all who just want to get rid of the dogs-as for police, when i told them about the
problem-they adviced ‘madam kyo musibath leh rahi ho-do-char kass ke danda maar do aur bhaga do en kutto ko’ so i contact PFA to help and get abused by the most undignified woman heading PFA, she called me pagal aurat and kutiya, haramjadi-and yes i can prove this from my call records of 19th November, 2012. it is disgusting when so called animal activists and care givers also avoid assisting in dire cases. in my opinion-those people wanting to harm stray animals have the right to do it since no one cares-
has anyone ever bothered to penalize those that keep cows and when they are milked, just left to roam on the roads making a mess and causing traffic woes.
this is an action which has to be done jointly by the govt and animal welfare, not just a handful of animal lovers who are shuned by both-govt and animal activists who make excuses about shelters being over crowded and infectious or lack of funds-this is a call they have taken to do something for stray animals, yes agreed that this is not an easy task and with very little support its really hard to manage, but places like friendicoes, sanjay gandhi animal shelter and jeev ashram have a lot of funding from foriegn sources and can help to a great extent but wiwill not-at least when its a desperate call they should come forth without even asking questions, but no-they will make all the excuses and ask to caller to call some other place or person.
frankly i could go on about issues and the trauma i have faced when dealing with horrible neighbours and equally useless animal activists.
the need of the day is to form teams to educate people about how to handle stray dogs-the solution is not to kill or beat them. they need to be taken and neutered/spayed and brought back to their areas-i have also observed some dogs in Rajinder Nagar area how have collars put on, they are strays and look ok-BUT i notice that the collars are very tight, some of them are choking on them-i assume these collars are put on by the mcd, i wish someone would take note and put the collar on loosely so if the dog grows bigger, there is enough space, these dogs dont allow people to touch them hence no one can losen the collar.
thank you for your patience to go thru my mail.
i see boys throwing stones at poor puppies and dogs!
what should i do in that case?
who to complain?
You should gently try and speak to those boys first and tell them not to do so, speak in the language they will listen and understand…sometimes a gentle kind request does help…try atleast…they are after all little beings, it is very insensitive of people to be hurting them, infact they need to be looked after and nurtured…fights don’t help resolve situations like these, sometimes just gentle requests help drive home the point.
I have recently come across a MMS clip being forwarded on social media where it is seen that few boys have pushed a donkey over a bridge into the river. The video is quite disturbing and is shot in totally bad taste. I believe strict action should be taken against the culprits. Their faces can be seen in video. I would have given the link to video right away but I do not want that video to publicized and circulated as it may start a series of events against stray animals.
I do not know how we can complain against this. The police will not entertain the case giving jurisdictional excuses. We need some central authority to investigate the case and find out where the video was shot and who are the culprits.
You can report abuse to the networks hosting this video , or wherever this video is uploaded…be it Facebook or YouTube. The networks normally end up removing crap if they think it is promoting violence like the one you describe.
My Makan owner has a dog, he treats him very badly. Oh, and do not give him food or water keeps him hungry all day. does not even clean. his health is getting worse. What should I do for that dog?
Which city are you writing from? Doing what your landlord is doing is illegal under the Indian Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960, you can take a copy of that act and gently reason it out with your landlord, do it subtly and tactfully, say you heard on Radio that you people can lodge complaints on such cases and thought of warning him, that he either takes care of his pet properly or organisations may take action…see what happens, may be this gentle yet clever use of words from your end, will convey the lesson to the landlord and also prevent you from burning any bridges with him…or the alternative is as described in this article, that you lodge a complaint against this person with photo-proofs to organisations like People for Animals and the Local Police Station and they come and speak to this person, but that would mean you being chucked out of this rented accommodation…choose your options.
we are also ready to vaccinate and sterlize her once she gets friendly wth us and allows us to touch her. can they harm her? treat her cruelly? relocate her? what laws do we have on our side?
We had sent you a few e-mails answering all your queries and concerns. Hope you were able to get in touch with the people I had referred you to. Please get in touch for any further concerns, we would be happy to help in whichever way we possibly can. Take care Mahima.