Hyderabad: Just pay Rs 10 and you can get away from physically abusing a dog or any other cruelty towards domestic animals. The penalty for physically abusing an animal under the Prevention of Cruelty Act is just Rs 10 and second time offenders will have to shell out Rs 50. The punishment for killing any of these animals, would be three months imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1,000.
Animal lovers have been urging the government to pass the Animal Welfare Board of India’s draft Animal Welfare Act, 2011, draft Pet Shop Rules and other legislations aimed at protecting animals.
“Camels, cows, buffaloes, pigs and all other domestic animals and wild animals like snakes, boars, peacocks suffer cruelty regularly and the rules are not equipped enough to punish people responsible for that. On an average, about 500 peacocks are killed every year, and there is barely any conviction under the Wildlife Act which actually has very stringent measures to punish offenders. We need to fight for them and there are hardly any public prosecutors who know animal rights laws,” said Mahesh Aggarwal, an officer of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau.
The People For Animals, Hyderabad booked over 11 cases in 2013, of which two were compounded and nine are still pending in court. “There needs to be an increase in the disposal of cases to ensure speedy justice. Every person should take this up individually and call us on our rescue number 7680968789 immediately, so that animals can be saved,” said Vasanthi, a member of the People For Animals.
However, with a sudden spurt in awareness, a few cases have seen justice. In a recent case, the magistrate sent a person working in a fast food centre to 14 days judicial custody for pouring boiling water on his dog without any provocation. He failed in securing bail, as the dog had severe burns all over its body.
Increasing awareness among people also sent a butcher in the Old City to prison for six months for illegally shipping 83 cows to a slaughterhouse in Nagpur. Another butcher from Raidurgam was booked and five camels were rescued.
