Critical Analysis Of The Criminalization Of Animal Cruelty

Dashami B M, PES University

“For as long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other. Indeed, he who sows the seeds of murder and pain cannot reap the joy of love.”

– Pythagoras

ABSTRACT

There is a recent trend in the newspapers, online articles and other media platforms highlighting how the animals are treated cruelly including the pet animals where number of animals being raped are increasing day by day, where such incidents have led to death or other health related problems, cooking the pet dogs and cats for consuming purpose etc. One such example recently we can see is that a woman threw acid on the dog causing damage to its eye and the body. We can see that in spite of the Supreme Court has always defended the rights of animals there is a rapid increase in animal cruelty which is not being reported. This leads to a question whether the laws in IPC, 1860 such as Section 428 and 429 and PCA, 1960 (Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act) should be reformed because it raises a question if the provisions for the criminal penalties and bail are adequate or suitable to this modern society as these laws were framed during those days where animal cruelty was comparatively very less. Hence, this research paper talks about what changes to be made in law so as to reduce the cruelties such as bestiality, negligence, animal hoarding, physical domestic abuse, organized animal abuse etc or what are the different types of cruelties animals face and which provisions can be reformed for an appropriate punished who violate these which is not provided pertinently, currently as per Indian laws. Hence, this paper enhances the knowledge on Critical analysis of animal cruelty both from law and morality perspectives.

Keywords: Animal Cruelty, Criminal Penalties, Bestiality, Animal Hoarding, Organized Animal Abuse