Draft Prevention of Cruelty to Animal (Amendment) Bill-2022 | 24 Nov 2022

Why in News?

Recently, the Government has introduced the draft Prevention of Cruelty to Animal (Amendment) Bill-2022 to amend the six-decade-old law Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act, 1960.

• The draft has been prepared by the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.

What are the Proposed Amendments?

• Bestiality as a Crime:
  • The draft includes ‘bestiality’ as a crime under the new category of ‘gruesome cruelty’.
    • “Bestiality” means any kind of sexual activity or intercourse between human being and animal.
    • Gruesome cruelty has been defined as “an act that leads to extreme pain and suffering to the animals which may cause lifelong disability or death”.
• Punishment for Gruesome Cruelty:
  • A minimum fine of Rs 50,000 may be imposed and may be increased to Rs 75,000 by a judicial magistrate in consultation with the jurisdictional veterinarians, or the cost may be determined by the judicial magistrate whichever is more, or a maximum fine of one year that may be extended to three years.
• Punishment for killing an Animal:
  • A maximum 5-year imprisonment, along with a fine.
• Freedoms to Animals:
  • The draft also proposes insertion of a new Section 3A, which provides ‘five freedoms’ to animals.
  • It shall be the duty of every person having charge of an animal to ensure that the animal in his care or under his charge has:
    • Freedom from thirst, hunger and malnutrition
    • Freedom from discomfort due to environment
    • Freedom from pain, injury and diseases
    • Freedom to express normal behaviour for the species
    • Freedom from fear and distress
• Community Animals:
  • In the case of community animals, the local government shall be responsible for their care.
    • The draft proposals introduce the community animal as “any animal born in a community for which no ownership has been claimed excluding wild animals as defined under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

What does the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 say?

• About:
  • It discusses different forms of cruelty, exceptions, and killing of a suffering animal in case any cruelty has been committed against it, so as to relieve it from further suffering.
  • The legislative intent of the Act is to “prevent the infliction of unnecessary pain or suffering on animals”.
  • The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) was established in 1962 under Section 4 of the Act.
  • This Act provides for punishment for causing unnecessary cruelty and suffering to animals. The Act defines animals and different forms of animals.
    • In the case of a first offence, fine which shall not be less than ten rupees but which may extend to fifty rupees.
    • In the case of a second or subsequent offence committed within three years of the previous offence, fine which shall not be less than twenty-five rupees but which may extend to one hundred rupees or with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months, or with both.
  • It provides the guidelines relating to experimentation on animals for scientific purposes.
  • The Act enshrines the provisions relating to the exhibition of the performing animals, and offences committed against the performing animals.
• Criticism:
  • The Act has been criticised for being ‘speciesist’ (put very simply, the assumption that humans are a superior species deserving more rights), for its quantum of punishment being negligible, for not defining ‘cruelty’ adequately, and for slapping a flat punishment without any gradation of crimes.

Source: IE