Indian Animal Welfare Laws vs Rising Animal Abusers - Who is Going to Win?

According to a statistical approach, 100 to 1,000 species are lost per million per year, mostly due to human activities that have caused habitat loss and destruction; and climate change. A recent study states, 60% of animals have been wiped out and 1 million more are under urgent threat. I wonder, are we trying to kill ourselves or have we forgotten how the eco-system works? We will not survive if we finish off everything around us for us.

Some of us enjoy sports like bullfighting, fowl-fighting; some set them on fire, some beat them to death or skin them alive, anything and everything that is possible is done to animals because they cannot fight back, maybe? Animal abuse cases are rising tremendously in India or rather are being exposed, thanks to social media. The recent incident in Ramnagar, Roorkee, where an innocent dog was entrapped and mercilessly dragged into the van to be thrown someplace or euthanized exemplifies the psychology of many human beings having a pathetic sense of superiority over animals. The authorities were involved in capturing the dog mercilessly and dragging it to the van and that shocks us even further.

Read the entire case here - https://www.facebook.com/pg/hakunasamatata/posts/?ref=page_internal

I was recently mocked by a friend that I have destroyed Maninder Singh Issar, the cat killer from Alwar’s life by getting an FIR filed against him with the help of People for Animals, for getting four cats brutally skinned on camera by the means of his two ferocious dogs. Sad part, he will be bailed out in Rs 50 and will have no fear to do it again and moreover, will be smarter to evade detection the next time.

Maninder Singh Issar, age 18, from Alwar, Rajasthan, entrapped and then recorded cats being killed by this dogs for subscribers. He might be arrested but will be out in Rs 50 due to our insufficient laws against animal abuse.

I want to understand, what are the metrics to weigh the life of four cats and a Maninder Singh Issar? Reminds me of The Blacklist episode, where the blacklister measures the life of a person vs a person and kills the one that has lesser value. So mechanical and inhumane, right? Well, it is that, many of us believe animals have less value than us that’s why we keep coming up with fantasies of a magical tiger nail that is medically effective to cure a biological disease or even drinking of fragrant animal urine will stop the natural process of aging.

During the Renaissance, the idea that animals were not capable of experiencing emotions or feelings was considered true, but times have changed, we do not wear chemises under our gowns. Point being, the fact that animals are very much capable of experiencing emotions has gained momentum fairly recently. They can experience affective states. It is untrue that animals respond to a beating or any injury by crying or struggling as an automatic response but not actually feel the pain because they are sentient beings just like us.

What is sentience? Sentience can be defined simply as the ability to feel or perceive. All animals with spines, which includes all mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish, as well as some animals without spines such as octopus, squid, crabs and lobsters, are generally considered sentient. So when we are boiling a crab alive unnecessarily, just imagine yourself being boiled alive. Other animals like insects haven't demonstrated sentience, yet.

In states like, New Zealand, animals are considered as sentient being by law, making the state a world leader in animal protection. In UK, the mere negligence of an animal can land one up in jail for 51 weeks that is the regard for an animals life.

In India, the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act’s Statement of Object is to prevent the infliction of unnecessary pain or suffering on animals. Last year in 2018, the Government of India was evaluating a proposal to raise its existing animal abuse penalties under Section 428 ad Section 429 from Rs 10 - Rs 50 to Rs 6,000, mostly for inflation adjustment purposes. For animal activists, whatever the purpose, it will be a victory only if it pulls through.

Now a parochial act, was a big measure back in 1960’s. The value of Rs 50 was humongous at that given time, but now for an offence like animal cruelty, is equivalent to “commit the crime and get off easily” which makes abusers more fearless and bolsters their inclinations to inflict unnecessary pain and injury to animals. A country with better animal protection laws has two outcomes to enjoy:

1. Better care for animals

2. A reputation of integrity as a country

Animals play a crucial part in the economy as well. With the rising influence of social media, animal abuse is also another social evil that is being exposed. According to MPI of New Zealand, animal welfare practices add value to exports as a responsible agricultural producer. Animal welfare is increasingly important for accessing premium markets and differentiating New Zealand’s products. According to their animal welfare strategy, cases of poor animal welfare can have a negative impact on their reputation and can result in a loss of export markets, inability to gain access to new markets, or additional conditions and checks being placed on our products or production processes.

This applies universally. Be it inflation adjustment or export, make an amendment to the existing Indian law against animal abuse because least we can expect is, that it passed on humane grounds. If it had to happen, it would have happened on those grounds long time back.

Stronger standards of care for animals, their welfare and protection should be inculcated into school curriculum and educational drives should be conducted with partnering with RWA’s and other associations or relevant bodies. Stricter and stiffer penalties for offenders, mental health evaluations and counselling sessions for offenders should be incorporated into the system. An Animal Abuse Offenders List should be maintained to avoid more cases and as a caution for people with pets to be more careful around convicts. Convicts should be banned from animal ownership. Seems like an ideal state, eh? It is a dream for now.

Human beings are at the top of the food chain that automatically makes us, if I may put it in a patriarchal manner, the father of the family. It is our responsibility as the most evolved species to take care of the species “now” dependent on us. Animals didn’t need us, but now they do, after all, we have done almost everything to destroy their natural habitat and above that, some of us inflict brutalities upon them over minor inconveniences or absolutely no reason. Despite active animal protection activism, Supreme Court directives and apt amendments suggested, the Government has not found reason enough to change the law. I wonder why? Let's hope that the Indian government will take an intelligent decision towards improved animal protection laws and formulate better implementation processes as swiftly as it implemented demonitisation but until then animal abusers are winning.