Recent news reports of cases of unimaginable levels of cruelty towards animals has left a lot of us shocked and grieved. It is hard to charge and bring the perpetrators of these heinous crimes to justice, additionally the laws are not stringent enough, along with rarely being pursued. Every living creature has a right to a beautiful, happy life and intentionally harming defenseless creatures is downright wrong. News today of a pregnant female elephant dying after being fed pineapples filled crackers has left me disturbed to the core and prompted me to finally write this petition. As my mom put it - “To betray the love and trust of an innocent creature intentionally and harm them is the highest form of cruelty”. 

What this petition aims at is an amendment to the Cruelty to Animals Act of 1960 as per which it is illegal to kill or maim an animal with a meager fine of atleast Rs.2,000 and/or a jail term of up to five years (These vary across categories of crime committed and are lesser in certain categories). The proposal is to increase this to at least Rs. 50,000 and/or up to lifetime imprisonment. In cases where the crimes are exceptionally cruel, the crime be treated equivalent to culpable homicide. These laws need a systematic plan of stronger, stricter enforcement and swift speedy justice so as to deter future instances of cruelty towards animals. Government sponsored programs or media announcements to sensitize the general population regarding animal rights would also be beneficial.

I hope that we the people of India can be the voice of these voiceless animals who suffer in silence and almost never receive justice. I know that the vast majority of us care deeply, and it is time for us to be the champions of the animals that we love so dearly! Each one of us has the power to bring about change and specially our representatives in the  Legislative Assemblies. If you have access to your local representatives who can propose amendments to the laws please please urge them to do so.