For Immediate Release:
02 September 2024
Contact:
Meet Ashar; AsharM@petaindia.org
Hiraj Laljani; HirajL@petaindia.org
Agra – Following the horrific incident of an acid attack on four community dogs that resulted in the death of a dog and left three others grievously injured, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India intervened to ensure that justice would be served to the fullest extent of the law by working to have relevant stringent provisions added to the first information report (FIR) that were not included when it was initially registered on 18 August. PETA India fired off a letter to the station house officer (SHO) of Nai Ki Mandi Police Station requesting that Section 325 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, be included in the FIR. The three injured dogs are recuperating under the care of Casper’s Home Trust, a local non-governmental organisation.
An FIR was initially registered against an unknown individual under Section 11(1)(l) of The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960, following a complaint from Smt Vineeta Arora of Casper’s Home Trust. After PETA India’s intervention, a stringent provision – Section 325 of the BNS, 2023 – has now been incorporated into the FIR. This provision makes the maiming or killing of any animal a cognisable offence and provides for a jail term of up to five years, a fine, or both. A Delhi court recently sentenced a man to one tear of imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 10,000 for throwing acid on a dog. The concerned court noted, “Letting off such a person with less punishment and granting any leniency to the convict will convey an adverse message to society.”
“Those who abuse animals often move on to harming humans. For everyone’s safety, it’s imperative that members of the public report cases of cruelty to animals such as this one,” says PETA India Cruelty Response Coordinator Virendra Singh. “We commend Shri Subhash Chandra, SHO of the Nai Ki Mandi Police Station, for promptly registering the FIR, incorporating a stringent section, and sending a clear message that cruelty to animals will not be tolerated.”
PETA India recommends that perpetrators of animal abuse undergo psychiatric evaluation and receive counselling, as abusing animals indicates a deep psychological disturbance. Research shows that people who commit acts of cruelty to animals are often repeat offenders who move on to hurting other animals, including humans. A study published in Forensic Research & Criminology International Journal stated, “Those who engage in animal cruelty were [three] times more likely to commit other crimes, including murder, rape, robbery, assault, harassment, threats, and drug/substance abuse.”
PETA India – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way” – has long campaigned for strengthening the PCA Act, 1960, which contains outdated, inadequate penalties, such as a maximum fine of only Rs 50 for convicted first-time offenders (although the BNS, 2023, prescribes stronger punishments). In a proposal sent to the central government regarding an amendment to the act, PETA India recommended significantly increasing penalties for cruelty to animals.
For more information, please visit PETAIndia.com or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
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