Hyderabad: Members of Parliament have urged Central government to Act strongly against animal cruelty

Hyderabad: A dozen Members of Parliament have urged Central government to increase punishment for animal cruelty in the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 (PCA Act), following the #NoMore50 campaign by Humane Society International/India and People for Animals. The NGOs have been working jointly with legislators and executive agencies to increase the penalties in the PCA Act, and they welcome the letter from the MPs to the Minister of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries Giriraj Singh. #NoMore50 refers to the campaign to increase the fine of Rs 50 that has remained unchanged since the PCA Act took effect.

India's animal cruelty law was enacted in 1960 to replace colonial era legislation and sought to prevent the infliction of unnecessary pain and suffering on animals. However, the penalties for animal cruelty were set at the bare minimum and have not been reviewed even once since then. Over the years, many egregious acts of animal cruelty in India, such as puppies being burnt alive, pets being bludgeoned to death due to conflicts between individuals, trends of tormenting and hurting animals for social media have displayed that the current law does not do enough to protect animals.

Alokparna Sengupta, managing director, HIS, India, said, "It's been 60 years since the PCA Act became law, and during that time the penalties have remained the same: fines of 50-100 rupees! These obsolete penalties fail to act as a deterrent, enabling animal abusers to continue to inflict unfathomable cruelty on animals. The hands of the law enforcement agencies are also tied as barely any offenses are covered by the Act. We hope that this massive support of our #NoMore50 campaign will make the government take notice and introduce the much-needed amendment to the PCA Act."

Gauri Maulekhi, a trustee for People for Animals, said, "PFA and HSI/India started the #NoMore50 campaign in 2016 after the horse Shaktiman was beaten in Uttarakhand. Sadly, Shaktiman is not alone. There is a potential Shaktiman in every dog, cat, cow or bird around us, and year after year, we see increasing reports of cruel treatment of animals of all kinds with little to no consequences. We are thankful to the Parliamentarians for their support and voices will amplify the voices of the animals that we work for and help bring them justice."

Union Minister Thaawarchand Gehlot, Anubhav Mohanty, Dr. Mohammed Jawed, Girish Bapat, Ranjeeta Koli are among the 12 serving MPs so far to extend their support. #NoMore50 is an opportunity for people to stand up and make their voices heard for animals.