Tougher draft law against cruelty to animals: what's in it, why it's needed

• The Centre proposed to overhaul The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, introducing 61 amendments in the law.
• A draft Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Amendment) Bill, 2022, prepared by the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying, has been opened for public comments

Major changes proposed

• Several offences made cognizable
• Means that offenders can be arrested without an arrest warrant.
• Proposal to include “Bestiality” as a crime
• Under the new category of “Gruesome cruelty.”
• Proposes:
• fines from Rs 50,000 - 75,000 or cost of the animal, whichever is more, or;
• imprisonment of 1 -3 years or
• Both” for the offense of gruesome cruelty
• For killing an animal, it proposes a maximum punishment of 5 years in jail.
• Other proposals
• Proposes insertion of a new section providing 5 freedoms to animals.
• Duty of every person having charge of an animal to ensure that the animal under his charge has freedom from:
  • Thirst, hunger and malnutrition;
  • Discomfort due to environment;
  • Pain, injury and diseases;
  • Fear and distress, and the
  • Freedom to express normal behavior for the species

“Gruesome cruelty”

• Act involving animals which leads to “extreme pain and suffering” and is “likely to leave the animal in life-long disability”.
• Includes:
• mutilation or killing of animal by the use of strychnine injection in the heart
• any other cruel manner known to cause permanent physical damage to the animal or render animal useless or cause any injury which is likely to cause death including bestiality”.

Past call for amendments

• 2014 - the SC, in ‘Animal Welfare Board of India vs A Nagaraja & Others’, had said that “Parliament is expected to make proper amendment of the PCA Act”.
• 2020 - a group of MPs wrote to then Animal Husbandry Minister Giriraj Singh, urging that the punishment in the 1960 Act be increased.
• 2021 - an MP proposed a Bill expanding the definition of cruelty