Intro: Lack of awareness and stricter punishment are a few reasons behind growing cases of animal cruelty in the country, says well-known animal rights activist Purabi Patra.
Young Sneha Aryan (name changed), a creative writer working with a Bhubaneswar-based publishing house, one day spotted an injured pigeon writhing in pain while she was having lunch on her office terrace. Though new to the city, she managed to rush the distressed animal to a veterinary hospital taking help of an office boy. Fortunately, the attending doctor was an ardent animal lover who took all care for the bird’s recovery. Though many of Sneha’s colleagues were also present on the terrace, most of them thought taking strain of treating a bird is wastage of time. It is not only friends, many among us think the same way undermining the fact that every animal on the earth has right like humans to live with dignity and they deserve the care.
In order to raise status of animals and their welfare standards across the globe, World Animal Day is observed October 4 every year. The day also meant for celebrating the human-animal bonding. But in this dog-eat-dog world, how many of us really care for the well-being of these voiceless creatures. Moreover, cruelty against the animals in the society is growing by the day. Here is what a few advocates for animals have to say on why animals, especially strays, are being ill-treated in our country.
—Purabi Patra, founder and chairperson of Animal Welfare Trust, Ekamra, attributes lack of awareness and lack of stricter punishment are the reasons behind growing number of animal cruelty cases. Besides, she feels that people don’t have compassion towards animals these days. The seed of kindness and compassion towards animals should be sown in children right from the childhood so that they can develop respect and love for animals.
Recalling a few anecdotes, she says, “Recently, a pregnant dog was beaten mercilessly by two women at Samantrarapur area in Bhubaneswar. On being informed, we rescued her in dying condition. Naming the dog April, we started an online campaign to get justice for April. April underwent surgery and delivered two puppies before succumbing to the injuries. The newborns also did not survive due to premature birth. Justice for April soon became a movement across social media platforms following her death. We also filed a police complaint demanding harshest punishment against the offenders. However, police served notices on the accused but took no action against them. Lack of punishment encourages many to commit such crimes and get away with them.”
Citing one more instance of cruelty, Purabi continues: “In another incident, a 68-year-old man was arrested and remanded in judicial custody for allegedly sexually assaulting a stray dog at Patia. The accused, a security guard, was booked under Section relevant sections of IPC. After the animal’s medical examination was conducted at Saheed Nagar Veterinary Hospital, it was handed over to me. However, the accused is roaming scot-free.”
— Purabi feels that stricter amendment of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960 is the need of the hour. “In most cases of animal cruelty, the accused get bail as cases are often registered under Sections 428 and 429 of IPC. For these sections, the maximum sentence period is less than seven years. Besides, most sections of PCA Act treat several offences as non-cognizable and bailable. This makes easier for the accused to escape imprisonment either by securing bail or paying penalty, often as little as Rs 50. The state government has to come up with stringent laws for crime against animals.”
“In India, it is common sight to see people pelting stones at stray animals for the sake of fun. Besides, people also engage bulls and hens in fights for entertainment. In villages, people also organise cart races where animals like bullocks are treated as playful objects. As if this was not enough, animals are sacrificed at many shines flouting Supreme Court verdict. Gone are those days when animals were not only considered part of our habitation but also worshiped”, says Sanjib Das, secretary of People for Animal.
— Sanjib, who recently helped Athagarh forest officials bust a pangolin smuggling racket recently, says “Animals are important components of the ecosystem. Their role as consumers helps maintain the cycle of energy in the environment. We don’t take stray dogs seriously although their role in ecosystem cannot be ignored. Be it stray dogs or wild animals, we need to conserve all animal species. And for that government should take stringent action against those who torture the animals.”
—Bichitrananda Biswal popularly known as Bichi Bhai has dedicated his life for wildlife conservation. A farmer by profession, he is the founding member of Sea Turtle Action Programme (STAP). He has been monitoring the long term Olive Ridley Conservation Programme of Action for Protection of Wild Animals (APOWA) in Puri and Jagatsinghpur in association with Department of Forest and Environment, Government of Odisha. Hailing from Astaranga, he has also undertaken community-led conservation programmes to protect wildlife, sparrow and biodiversity. He is also a part of the Mangrove Biodiversity Conservation and Restoration programme at Astaranga. In the last 26 years, he has saved more than 1100 venomous snakes, 200 Dolphins and 100 sparrows. He has been working tirelessly to safeguard all kinds of wild animals and mammals from poaching.
He maintains that cruelty against animals is a cognizable offence under Sections 428 and 429 of IPC. There is an urgent need to implement effectively the laws made for the protection of animals. When it comes to conservation of Olive Ridley, officials of forest, fishery and Indian Coast Guards have to work together to save turtles from clutches of poachers. Lack of coordination between these three departments leads to large scale poaching of Olive Ridley.”
—Rajesh Prusty is one of the most sought after names in Bhubaneswar when it comes to animal rescue work, cows and bulls in particular. He says “Law against animal cruelty is not implemented properly which is why the mute creatures are subjected to ill-treatment and torture. Besides, enough awareness is not created on the issue. Moreover, incidences of human-animal conflict are highlighted in the media. But animals are abused across the globe – in laboratories, farms and pet shops for human good.”
—- Akash Ranjan Rath, former warden of Puri, says, “Human beings are selfish. They use animals for their own interest. Ironically, we all like animals, be it wild or domesticated, and take pleasure watching them on television screen but hardly do anything worthwhile to ensure their dignity. If everyone starts to look at animals with love and compassion, we will see far fewer cases of cruelty towards animals. There are rules and laws in place against the ill-treatment of animals, but are rarely followed. We all need to develop an emotional bonding towards animals and try to instill the feeling of love and respect for animals as they are an important part of our ecosystem.”
CELEBRATING WITH STRAYS
Marriage certainly is one of life’s most significant events and couples make the occasion special in various ways. Here is a couple who did it really memorable by spending time with stray and rescued animals in a Bhubaneswar-based animal shelter home.
Eureka Apta and Joanna Wang, both residents of Bhubaneswar, went for a simple temple wedding so that they can spend little more for the wellbeing of stray animals. They donated food and other daily essentials to an animal shelter centre in the city and also spent time with the animals to celebrate their marriage.
Apta is a filmmaker who had worked with Odisha Tourism and NFDC while Wang is a dentist. “We always had this plan. We wanted to do something for these voiceless animals instead of going for a lavish celebration,” said the two.
Rashmi Rekha Das, OP