Animal Abuse

Cruelty to animals is an issue in India that Indians do not seem to take seriously. We wake up almost every day to cases of abuse against animals. Animals are being beaten, abused, killed and also raped. The maximum punishment for all of this is a mere 50rs fine and/or a maximum of 3 months in jail. Indians tend to laugh it off and move on with their lives.

How would you feel if someone tortured you?

How would you feel if you were treated as a lifeless object?

In New Delhi, an unidentified man was seen by the CCTV, attacking a dog and a puppy outside a metro station. A housewife in Karnataka, smashed eight puppies using a boulder. A pregnant goat was gangraped by 8 men in Haryana. One of the men went upto the owner, confessed his crime and also said that he enjoyed raping the goat. In Hyderabad, 100 dogs were culled and dumped in a forest. A man in Vadodara, raped three cows and this led to the death of one of the cows. Eleven Langurs were beaten with sticks and splashed with an abrasive chemical. This led to their death and they were dumped in the Rajasthan Highway.

There are many more cases of violence against animals. People don’t seem to care that animals also have a life. And the government has also not done much to protect the lives of the animals.

In late 2015, the State government of Kerala claimed that the deaths occurring due to dog bites has risen to about 10,000 that year and mulled the cracking down of stray dogs. This led to a massive protest there and the alleged killing of more than 100 stray dogs.

The cruelty against animals is not limited to only attacks but also abandonment. The increased number of abandoned animals is increasing the stray population of the nation. In every developing nation, the issue of stray animals is prevalent.

Gauri Maulekhi of People for Animals says, “Abandonment is a huge issue. Irresponsible pet ownership adds a huge amount of burden on the already existing huge population of street dogs. A lot of people think that dogs are just a matter of convenience, you can keep them for as long as you like them and leave them whenever you want.”

However, the animal activists are doing whatever they can to protect the life of animals in India. But it is not their sole responsibility, animal abuse should also be treated like the abuse of a human. It needs to be given the priority that we give to the life of a human or even more, because even they have lives and families. They are entitled to a full and healthy life.