After more than 60 years the Govt of India has at last decided to amend the prevention of cruelty to animals (PCA) Act 1960. This is indeed a very good and positive initiative taken by the Modi Govt. On 15th April 2021 the stakeholders were invited by the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying to attend the webinar and give their suggestions on the proposed changes.
Some of the highlights of the proposed changes is given below:
1 Three new sections (Section 11 (A), 11 (B) and 11 (C) have been introduced. In the earlier Act there was only section 11.
Section 11 (A) relates to Gruesome Cruelty against the animals and this shall be punished by Rs. 50,000 and imprisonment of 1 year which may be extendable to 3 years or both
Section 11 (B) relates to Killing of Animals and the offender shall be punished by a penalty of Rs. 75,000 and imprisonment of 3 years which may be extendable to 5 years or both.
Both the above two sections are quite welcoming for the voiceless of India.
However there is a new section 11 (C) which may defeat the very spirit and jeopardize the implementation of Section 11 (B).
According to Section 11 (C) the following cases may be exempted from section 11 (B) that is killing of animals:
1 By Accident
2 In defence of self and property
3 By act of God or war
4 By any other unforseen circumstances outside the control of any person in general
Accident is quite vague.
We have seen in the past how people have run over their vehicles on street animals. Such acts are unpardonable and most of them have been done in purpose and they are all accidents. So by all possibility any offender who kills an animal deliberately under his wheels may easily get away taking the help of section 11 (C) by calling it an accident. An accident done intentionally cannot be forgiven and should come under the ambit of section 11 B. Such accidents should not be exempted.
Self defence and protection of property again gives the offender a free hand to kill animals. Most of the people who kill dogs say that the dog bit him or attacked him and therefore he killed him. Hence, all who will kill animals will start taking the plea of self defence and hence get away from the punishment.
By act of God or war is quite understood. It is both humans and animals who lose their life during any natural calamity or war so mentioning this clause is really not all that important.
And lastly 'Any other unforseen circumstances outside the control of any person in general' again is quite vague and will give the offender plethora of reasons to justify his killing and hence will easily get away from the punishment.
Section 11 (C) needs a good amount of rethinking and discussion. Either it should be removed or it should be well defined leaving no room for any loopholes. If the amendments are being made then it should benefit the beneficiary otherwise it's of no use. And the beneficiary unfortunately cannot speak, read or write. They are entirely dependent on the Govt and the various human stakeholders. So it becomes the duty of the Govt especially the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying and the citizens of India to make an animal law which is animal centric and is solely for the purpose to benefit the animals and not to help the perpetrators to get away from being punished. Hence, the law should be free from any loopholes and ambiguity.
Also the amendment proposes the introduction of the formation of State Animal Welfare Board. This indeed is a very good intiative as the establishment of boards in every state will bring animal welfare and strengthen the implementation of animal policies in India.
According to the Animal Rights Activist Meet Ashar of Peta India there needs to be some more additions and changes in the proposed amendment. He says that "the minimum fine prescribed under the Act has been increased to a mere ₹750 only. This needs to be increased exponentially so that the penal provisions do not become redundant after a decade from now. So also, cases involving brutal torture or killing of animals must be made non-bailable so as to deter and prevent the abusers from committing similar acts of abuse towards animals in the future. Most importantly, sexual abuse of animals must be made a cognizable and non-bailable offence under the PCA Act. Not to forget, Section 11(1) needs to be made cognizable entirely, so also Section 38". To read Meet's views and suggestions regarding the proposed amendments kindly go on the link below:
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=5655559171121201&id=100000015219256
https://twitter.com/asharmeet02/status/1383039651544375297?s=20
Meet has further urged everyone to send their suggestions to the Government regarding the proposed amendment on email at awd-section@dahd.nic.in latest by April 25 2021.
Today India and world over is fighting against the Covid Pandemic. It seems nature is taking revenge with we humans for the atrocities we have done on this planet. We have cut trees, forests and killed millions of animals just for our selfish interests. And all in the name of development. This is a lopsided and human centric development which is actually taking us towards destruction. This planet belongs to all and it's high time we humans learnt to peacefully coexist with nature. And nature includes both plants and animals. Either man should love animals or if he doesn't then the laws of the state should be such that he should think twice before harming the animal. India needs to become one such state.
Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying
@girirajsinghbjp
https://twitter.com/girirajsinghbjp?s=20