Marching for the welfare of animals

With increasing instances of cruelty against animals, activists believe that stricter punishments should be enforced for these crimes. Activist Shravan Krishnan said, “The current act, Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, doesn’t punish the offenders strongly enough. We are mainly pushing for stricter punishments. The Animal Welfare Bill 2014 should be passed immediately as it has many positive points. To start with, animals are now viewed as non-human entities, while earlier they were considered as someone’s property. The act doesn’t differentiate between the species. Animals are recognised as sentimental beings with rights of their own – they have a right to freedom from hunger, pain, distress and discomfort and can express normal pattern of behaviour. Moreover, the punishments have also been made stringent – from fines running to lakhs and imprisonment up to five years.”

Koushik Raghavan, who organised this event titled India Unites for Animals, which was also observed across the country, said close to 200 people had gathered for this march. “We want the bill to be passed at the earliest. It was drafted by Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) in 2011 and proposed in 2014 but nothing more has been done. This countrywide march is to ask for amendments in the laws on cruelty against animals and only the government can do that,” he said. 

Sumita Pai, another activist, pointed out that perpetrators capable of cruelty towards animals are a threat to society. “Over the last few months itself, we have seen many acts of cruelty against animals – from the assault on Shaktiman, the police horse, to the dog Bhadra being thrown off the terrace. The perpetrators, who are capable of cruelty towards animals, have a higher probability towards attacking women, children or the elderly. If punishments are not strict enough, it will only encourage the perpetrators. We need this bill to be passed and stricter enforcement should be ensued. For this, activists from around 66 cities have planned this march to demand the government to pass the bill,” she concluded.