This is one of the most serious but, ignored issues in India, at this present age. Any kind of violence to animals can be said as cruelty for animals. Cruelty against animals is a legally punishable act in India.
Sections 428 and 439, prevention to the cruelty of animals, Slaughterhouse rules 2001 & 1960 IPC act of the Indian laws are made for the protection of animals but, these rules need to be implemented strictly.
We see news every other day from media, about one or other incidents highlighting the cruel practices to which animals are subjected but, we hardly notice it or it is hardly important for us. This should be given importance, especially by the government.
There are rarely any incidents where the government has taken strict and serious steps against these wrong acts of violence. Around the world,
animal abuse has been taken very seriously. The UK and Hong Kong are the countries
having the strictest animal welfare. Austria is known as the world's safest
country for animals.
Some of the Worst Occurrences of Animal Cruelty That Cast a Doubt on Humanity in India
- 2018, about 100 stray dogs were found dead in the forest area of Mongara, Hyderabad.An NGO reported that some unidentified persons are picking street dogs and killing them.
- 2018 again, few monkeys were found killed on NH-8, somewhere near Jaipur, Rajasthan. Forest officials said, they were badly beaten and the splashed with acid to kill.
- March 2018, several dead dogs were found on the street of the Mhada area in Nagpur. According to reports, these stray dogs were poisoned by the local meat sellers as these dogs were stealing meat from their shops.
- September 2017 , a stray dog fractured its skull when beaten with an iron rod in Mumbai.
- June 2018, a group of elephants was tortured by people in Rajasthan. The video was released by some source showing the elephants were hit by sticks continuously.
- January 2017, 21 dogs were rescued by an animal activist from a private research company. They were being used for various lab testing and experiments and were subjected to torture and pain for approx. 6 years.
- A viral video of a medical student from Chennai, throwing a 5-month-old puppy from the rooftop.
- Most common in India, horses used in marriages especially in the northern part of India, are usually sick and under-nutritional for the work they do. It was noted that sick horses were used for marriage purposes by the band groups.
- The most recent example of animal cruelty happened in Kerala, where a pregnant elephant was killed by feeding it with explosives.
Initiatives Taken by the Government
Weak penalties result in animal suffering. The Supreme court of India, in 2014 considered "Jallikattu"(a popular bull sport in the southern part of India) as cruelty to bulls and banned the same.
It was highly appreciable when the Uttar Pradesh government took some harsh steps to stop the illegal slaughterhouses across the state. This was done under the supervision of UP's CM Yogi Adityanath. A maximum of 10yrs and a fine of 5 lakhs was imposed.
The Need for the Government to Get Involved
If things go in the same way, it may impact the environment’s ecological balance disturbing causing some severe effects on our food cycle. Killing animals indirectly affects humans too. This needs to be understood.
Heavy penalties and
laws are supposed to be implemented and should be strictly followed to stop
animal cruelty.Strengthening the animal welfare organizations and enlarging the
definitions of animals abusive may help to stop animal abuse in our
country.
According to
PETA, if a society is taking animal cruelty lightly, they are encouraging the
same for humans too. Acts of animal cruelty are indicative of deep mental
disturbance and people involved in this are more likely to harm humans too.
According to
ISKON representative, just because an animal is less intelligent and cannot
speak, we have no right to kill, eat, or use it in any way. It is a
breathing and living being and has the full right to be alive.
How We Can Do Our Bit
With laws this
weak, in our country, we as citizens, should behave responsibly and should
initiate in spreading awareness against animal cruelty, educating people of
this crime and its ill-effects on the society and environment.
Written by - Sumit Sharma
Edited by - Aishwarya Khandekar
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