Will India finally update its Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act?

The Draft Prevention of Cruelty against Animals (Amendment) Bill, 2022 has been formulated and proposes updated penalties, considering the severity of the cruelty and the inflation rates currently. It was published for public comments on November 21, 2022 and received great public support. Will the government table the Bill in the upcoming monsoon session?

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THE media has been awash with reports of unimaginable brutality committed against animals.

'Dog hanged to death in Ghaziabad', 'Boys burn alive 3 puppies, another shoots dead a dog', 'Dog clubbed to death by 3 youths "for sleeping under boat" at Adimalathura Beach', are just some of the many such headlines we have seen in the print and electronic media in recent times.

More recently, reports of a heinous act in Delhi shocked us: 'Pregnant street dog beaten to death by Delhi students, dragged across field.'

In Bengaluru, a woman flung eight puppies against a rock to kill them, because she didn't want them in her street.

Animal welfare organisations are inundated daily with requests for help in cases ranging from pet neglect, to beating, kicking, killing of animals (owned or stray) and even cases of bestiality. 

In Bengaluru, a woman flung eight puppies against a rock to kill them, because she didn't want them in her street. 

These instances occurred between 2016–22, while calls for amending the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 are being made since 2012.

Also read: 'ABC' of street dog population management Rules and their effective implementation, Bombay High Court's blanket order amounts to passive killing of dogs 

Can we now hope that an amendment Bill for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 will finally make its way to the Parliament during this monsoon session?

Background

The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1890, India's first legislation for prevention of animal cruelty, was a colonial law made by the British Indian government. The 1890 Act extended its protection to domestic or captured animals and only prescribed punishments to cruelty in a 'public place'. 

In Emperor versus Nasir Wazir (1919), the Bombay High Court held that there was no provision of prohibition in the law for the abandonment of a (starving) animal and, subsequently, the abandoned animal was not the responsibility of the accused who had no control over the animal after having abandoned it.

In another matter, Emperor versus Ibrahim Meer Shikari (1917), the Bombay High Court found that stitching up the eyes of five Saras cranes (Sarus crane birds) for railway travel was not cruelty under Section 3 of the 1890 Act. The reason being that the act happened prior to travel and not in the way the travel took place, so even if it could be considered cruel, it did not take place in a 'public place' within the definition of the Act.

Though titled 'Prevention of Cruelty to Animals', the 1890 Act did nothing to prevent cruelty against animals. It was Rukmini Devi Arundale, the first woman in India to be appointed to Rajya Sabha, who introduced a private member's Bill in the Parliament, to replace the 1890 Act. 

India's first legislation for prevention of animal cruelty was made in 1890. It extended its protection to domestic or captured animals and only prescribed punishments to cruelty in a 'public place'.

While introducing the Bill, she said: "Do we believe that animals are our slaves? Do we believe that their feelings do not matter? That is the question that we have to answer for ourselves."

The rousing speech motivated the formation of a joint parliamentary committee, and the law finally came to pass in 1960. Though the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, was wider in its scope— defining 'animal' to be all animals except human beings, and recognising cruelty whether it was committed in a 'public place' or otherwise, it was still limited in its scope. 

The rousing speech motivated the formation of a joint parliamentary committee, and the law finally came to pass in 1960. Though the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, was wider in its scope— defining 'animal' to be all animals except human beings, and recognised cruelty whether it was committed in 'public place' or otherwise, it was still limited. 

The then minister of food and agriculture, S.K. Patil, while moving the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Bill on December 12, 1960 in the Parliament stated: "[I] do not claim that this is an ideal Bill. After 70 years, we are making an attempt for the first time to put on the statute at least something that will ultimately lead us on to the ideal Bill, after some years of experience."

For decades no steps were taken towards the 'ideal' Bill. 

With a minimum penalty of ₹10 and a maximum penalty of ₹50 for offences ranging from beating an animal to mutilating or even killing it, the objectives of the 1960 Act, and the intention of the Parliament to prevent the infliction of unnecessary pain and suffering on animals is lost.

A new beginning

The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) is a body established under the 1960 Act, whose statutory function includes keeping the law in force for prevention of cruelty to animals under constant study and advising the government of India on amendments to be undertaken in any such law. The AWBI has been recommending an amendment to the 1960 Act for over a decade now.

In 2016, Humane Society International (HSI), India and People for Animals (PFA), Uttarakhand launched a joint campaign called 'No More 50' to urge the government of India to amend the 1960 Act to update the penalties such that they serve as a deterrent. 

The high courts and the Supreme Court in several judgments, including in Animal Welfare Board of India versus A Nagaraja (2014), concurred that the 1960 Act needs to be amended to provide an effective deterrent in the form of adequate penalties and punishment.

Also read: Stray dogs: From 'ownerless' to 'community-owned', Animal suffering missing from social justice advocacy

Since 2016, there have been two private member's Bills proposing an amendment to the 1960 Act. As of 2022, support for such an amendment has been expressed by over 150 members of the Parliament and by over 0.75 million people. 

The Union ministry for animal husbandry, the nodal ministry on the subject of prevention of animal cruelty, conducted a stakeholder meeting in 2021 and invited public comments.

Following this, the Draft Prevention of Cruelty against Animals (Amendment) Bill, 2022 has also been formulated, which proposes updated penalties, considering the severity of the cruelty and the inflation rates currently. The same was published for public comments on November 21, 2022, and it received great public support.

However, it is yet to be tabled in the Parliament. Certain civil society groups and their elected representatives from across party lines are now appealing to the Prime Minister and Union ministry for animal husbandry to bring this Bill to the Parliament in the upcoming monsoon session.

While the 1960 law is not perfect, it has evolved from an archaic legislation to at least attempt to balance human interest with the welfare of animals. 

It has evolved over the years, through its application and through some landmark pronouncements of courts. As any law, this Act too must evolve with time, if society is to progress. 

The future of this law is now in the hands of the Parliament. We are hopeful that during this monsoon session, the 1960 Act is elevated to serve its purpose, and is saved from the fate of becoming an antiquated law.