Increase penalty for animal cruelty: MPs write to Environ Min

In the backdrop of the death of horse Shaktiman in Dehradun, parliamentarians cutting across party lines, have asked the Environment Ministry to increase the quantum of punishment for animal cruelty by amending the relevant law.
With several cases of severe cruelty cases being reported in recent time, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, BJD MP Baijayant Jay Panda and BJP MP Satyapal Singh have written to the Ministry to increase the penalties, an animal rights body said.
A statement issued by Humane Society International-India said the minimum penalty for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act is Rs 10 and the maximum is Rs 50 and has not been amended since 1960 when it was first enacted.

It said the letter comes in response to the campaign started by it and People for Animals following the filing of a new private member bill by MP Poonam Mahajan.
"The penalties for cruel treatment of animals under section 11 of the PCA Act - which range from Rs 10 to Rs 50 is grossly inadequate. Despite the increased rate of inflation and other socio-cultural changes, the quantum of penalty has not been reviewed in the last four decades.
"I hope that this issue is given urgent consideration and immediate steps are taken to address it through a simple amendment of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (PCA), 1960," Tharoor was quoted as saying in a statement by Humane Society International-India.

Baijayant 'Jay' Panda said that animal abuse should not be seen in isolation and treated as a petty offence.

"Indeed, a number of studies have drawn links between the abuse of animals and violence against people. It is, therefore imperative that we undertake measures to review and update the penalties under PCA to effectively curb animal abuse," he said.
BJP MP Satyapal Singh also said there is an urgent need to amend the penal provisions of the act in compliance with the landmark judgment of the Supreme Court and to prevent unnecessary pain and suffering of animals and to ensure the act works as a deterrent to animal abusers.

"We are extremely thankful to the Parliamentarians for highlighting the need for robust animal laws in India. Support from such progressive leaders will only bolster our task in making PCA Act an effective deterrent for animal abusers," said N G Jayasimha, Managing Director of Humane Society International India.
"The current PCA Act is crippled by its archaic provisions and until it is revised, we will never be able to protect this vulnerable section of the society," he claimed.
The body claimed there has been an "increase" in the number of animal abuse incidents in the recent past, which includes the assault on the police horse Shaktiman that ultimately resulted in her death, the cold blooded murder of puppies in Delhi and Bengaluru as well as the acid attack on a pony in Hyderabad.