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VOLUME 2 : ISSUE 4
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ABOUT US

WHITE BLACK LEGAL is an open access, peer-reviewed and

refereed journal provide dedicated to express views on topical legal
issues, thereby generating a cross current of ideas on emerging
matters. This platform shall also ignite the initiative and desire of
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With this thought, we hereby present to you

WHITE BLACK LEGAL: THE LAW JOURNAL

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A CRITICAL LEGAL STUDY OF THE LAWS

REGULATING FOR ANIMALS IN INDIA
1Sheoshree Adhikary

ABSTRACT
The law, when effectively harnessed, can become the most point weapon in the fight against
animal abuse and exploitation. When interpreted with courage and compassion, it can extend
the maximum protection to living beings that cannot speak or fight for themselves.
Despites the fact that cruelty towards any living creature is unacceptable, we see reports of
deliberate pain and suffering inflicted on animals every day.
While there is already a decent amount of information available concerning animal shelters and
the law, less information is available about how the law impacts rescue groups and foster care
programs.

KEYWORDS : History, ancient India, animal sacrifice ,animal rescue, animal rights, animal
welfare act, Abolitionism, Wildlife Protection act, 1972, Cruel Treatment of Animal is a
Punishable offence.

INTRODUCTION
Throughout history, humans believed in a God-given right to treat nonhuman animals with
cruelty however, some individuals, like Leonardo da Vinci for example, who once purchased
caged birds in order to set them free, 2 were concerned. His notebooks also record his anger
with the fact that humans used their dominance to raise animals for slaughter. 3 According to
contemporary philosopher Nigel Warburton, for most of human history the dominant view has
been that animals are there for humans to do with as they see fit.

Whether at home, on the farm, or at the dinner table, animals play an important role in everyday
human life. They serve as companions, a source of livelihood, entertainment, inspiration, and
of course food and clothing to people all across the world. Yet animals can and do exist
independent from people and, as living beings, they arguably have interests separate and apart

1
Semester – 3, 3yr LLB Student, Sarsuna Law College.
2
Warburton, Nigel. Philosophy : the basics (5th ed.). Routledge. p. 71. ISBN 9780415693172.
3
Jones, Jonathan (30 November 2011). "Leonardo da Vinci unleashed: the animal rights activist within the
artist". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 16 October 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2015.

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from their utility to humanity. As such, society is increasingly faced with legal, economic,
and ethical dilemmas about the proper place for animals and the extent to which their interests
should be respected, even when those interests conflict with what is best for
humans. Recognition of these issues has given rise to a new social movement, one that seeks
to attain increased legal protections, and even the recognition of actual “rights”, for nonhuman
animals. Not surprisingly, this push has met with a considerable amount of criticism and
ridicule from those who believe that the cost of animal rights specifically, and increased
protections more generally, is a corresponding reduction in human freedom.

This Article provides a sweeping overview of the issues at play in the debate over increased
legal and social protections for animals. It begins with a discussion of the historical and
philosophical roots of animal rights before proceeding to an overview of the current state of
the law as it relates to animals. The Article then explores the various social forces both
promoting and discouraging increased legal protections for animals and the justifications for
each position.

GENERAL DEFINITIONS AND HISTORY OF RESCUE

ORGANISATION AND FOSTER CARE PROGRAM
In order to understand the detailed discussion below, a quick overview of the history of animal
welfare will be given to briefly sketch the evolution of animals shelters and how the movement
has created the need for additional types of organization to assist with the pet overpopulation
problem.

❖ HISTORY
In colonial times, wandering livestock were gathered up and held in animal pounds until
the owner would come to reclaim the animal for fee. Animal shelters evolved out of
these pounds and began to collect and unpound the stray dogs and cats, but since the
economic value of dogs and cats was not equivalent to livestock, the dogs and cats often
went unclaimed. The focus of animals pounds then became euthanasia for the unwanted
animals.

❖ ANIMAL RESCUE ORGANIZATION

An animal rescue group or animal rescue organization is dedicated to pet adoption.
These groups take unwanted, abandoned, abused, or stay pets and attempt to find
suitable homes for them. Many rescue groups are created by and run by volunteers, who

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take animals into their homes and care for them- including training, playing, handling
medical issues, and solving behavior problems – until a suitable permanent home can
be found.
There are two major differences between shelters and rescue groups. Shelters are
usually run and founded by local government.4 Rescue groups are founded mainly by
donations and most of the staff and volunteers. While some shelters place animals in
foster homes, many are housed on-site in kennels. Some rescue groups have facilities
and others do not. Foster homes are heavily utilized in either case.

India’s oldest and Asia’s largest all-animal shelter, the Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care
Centre (SGACC) was founded in 1980 from a legacy bequeathed by the late Mrs. Ruth
Cowell of New South Wales, Australia to Sanjay Gandhi 5.

A foundation set up in her memory, the Ruth Cowell foundation, resolved to establish
an animal care Centre in Delhi that would serve as a prototype for other centers around
India.

❖ FOSTER HOMES FOR ANIMALS

Pet fostering provides temporary care to shelter animals who need to live in a home
environment prior to adoption. While pet fostering is ideal for some people, it is not for
everyone.
People who need care for their pets due to emergency or disaster rely on pet fosters
while they re-establish their lives. And deploying military personnel may need
temporary yet long-term pet care if they do not have reliable family or friends who can
commit to their pet’s care during long deployments.

4
^ Bial, Raymond(2011). Rescuing Rover: Saving America’s Dogs. Houghton Mifflin. P. 40.
5
www.Sanjaygandhianimalcare.org

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CRUELTY AND HUMANITY TOWARD ANIMALS IN INDIA

⮚ ANCIENT INDIA :
The Vedas, the scriptures of Hinduism (originating in the second millennium BCE) 6, teach ahimsa
(also spelt Ahinsa)7 or nonviolence towards all living beings. In Hinduism, killing an animals is
regarded as a violation of ahimsa cause bad karma(action work or deed) leading many Hindus to
practice vegetarianism (it a practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat)8. Hindu teaching
do not require vegetarianism, however, and allows animal sacrifice in religious ceremonies. 9

⮚ ANIMALS SACRIFICE IN HINDUISM :

The modern practice of Hindu animal sacrifice is mostly associated with Saktism (doctrine
of energy, power, the eternals goddess), Animal Sacrifice were part of the ancient Vedic
religion in India, and are mentioned in scriptures such as the Yajurveda.10
However they were largely eliminated during the formation of Hinduism, and very many
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Hindus now strongly disapprove of them. Some Puranas forbid animals sacrifice.
However the practice of animal sacrifice has lingered in certain local contexts.

As it has been rightly said by Abraham Licclon, “I am in favor of animal rights as well as human
rights. That is the way of well of a whole human being.” 12
In India, it is a common sight to see crudely castrated bulls pulling carts full of huge loads and
being whipped repeatedly if it stops on the way. In this, world of modernization and development
people are solely losing their innocent animals as well.

To stop to animal cruelty, the Central Government has passed several laws, the most commendable
being the “The Prevention of Cruelty Animal Act, 1960” .13

Apart from that, there is the “Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 ”14 as well which was established for
the protection of animal species and plants.

6
History of Hinduism, BBC.
7
Sanskrit Dictionary Reference.
8
Bajpai, Shiva (2011). The History of India – From Ancient to Modern Times. Himalayan Academy
Publications (Hawaii, USA), page 8, 98
9
EN. Sossidou; D.M. BROOM (Nov. 2012) “Animal welfare in different human cultures, Traditions and religious
faiths”. Asian – Australasian Journals of Animal Science.
10
Arthur Berriedale Keith (1989). The Religion and Philosophy of Veda and Upanishads, pp. 324-327.hhhhhhhhh
11
James G. Lochtefeld (2002). The illustrated Encyclopaedia of Hinduism. The Rosen Publishing Groups. P.41.
12
www.goodreads.com/qoutes/34040.
13
https: // indiankanoon.org.
14
Legistrative.gov.in.

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ANIMALS USED IN SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND COSMETICS TESTS

Animals experimentation in India in the 1860s when Britain began introducing new drugs to the
colony. Moved by the suffering of Indian strays and draught animals, Colesworthey Grant 15
founded the first Indian Society for the prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in 1861 in
Calcutta.

India’s 1960 anti-cruelty law created the committee for the purpose of control and supervision of
experiments on Animals (CPCSEA) to regulate animals experimentation. A 2003 report by
Animals Defenders International and the U.K. National Anti-Vivisection society based on evidence
gathered by the CPCSEA during inspections of 407 Indian laboratories finds “a deplorable standard
of animals care in the majority of facilities inspected”. The report lists many instances of abuse,
neglect, and failure to use available non-animals methods.16

ANIMAL WELFARE ACT, 1966

The Animal Welfare Act was signed into law in 1966. It is the only federal law in the United States
that regulates the treatment of animals in research, exhibition, transport and by dealers. The Act is
enforced by USDA, APHIS, Animal Care. 17

As enacted in 1966, the AWA required all animal dealers to be registered and licensed as well as
liable to monitoring by Federal regulators and suspension of their license if they violate any
provisions of the Animal Welfare Act and imprisonment of up to a year accompanied by a fine of
$1,000.18

The 1960 Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act is the legal basis of animal protection in India.

The focus of animal welfare and rights debates in India has been on the treatment of cattle, since
cows, unlike other animals, are considered to have a certain sacred status according to the majority
of million of Hindus (79.8 %); Sikhs (1.7%); Buddhists(0.71%) and Jains (0.4%) living in India. 19

15
Chakrabati, Pratik (2011) “Beast of Burden : Animal and Laboratory Research in Colonial India ”.
16
Animal Defender International; National Anti- Vivisection society (2003). Retrieved 26 April 2016.
17
Nal- usda.gov/ awic/ animals-welfare-act.
18
U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment (February 1986). Alternatives to Animal Use in Research,
Testing, and Education (pdf). U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment. NTIS order #PB86-183134.
Retrieved 1 June 2012 – via princeton.edu.
19
Lisa Kemmerer (2011). Animals and world Religions.

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ANIMALS RIGHTS
Animal rights is the idea in which some, or all, animals are entitled to the possession of their own
existence and that their most basic interests—such as the need to avoid suffering—should be
afforded the same consideration as similar interests of human beings. 20 That is, some species of
animals have the right to be treated as the individuals they are, with their own desires and needs,
rather than as unfeeling property.21

Its advocates oppose the assignment of moral value and fundamental protections on the basis of
species membership alone—an idea known since 1970 as speciesism, when the term was coined
by Richard D. Ryder—arguing that it is a prejudice as irrational as any other.22 They maintain that
animals should no longer be viewed as property or used as food, clothing, research subjects,
entertainment, or beasts of burden. 23

ABOLITIONISM
Abolitionism or abolitionist veganism is the animal rights based opposition to all animal use by
humans. Abolitionism maintains that all sentient beings, humans or nonhumans, share a basic right:
the right not to be treated as the property of others.24

Abolitionist vegans emphasize that animal products require treating animals as property or
resources and that animal products are not necessary for human health in modern societies.
Abolitionists believe that everyone who can live vegan is therefore morally obligated to be vegan.25

❖ GARY FRANCIONE
Gary Francione, professor of law and philosophy at Rutgers Law School in Newark, is a
leading abolitionist writer, arguing that animals need only one right, the right not to be
owned. Everything else would follow from that paradigm shift. He writes that, although

20
Taylor (2009), pp. 8, 19–20; Rowlands (1998), p. 31ff.
21
"Animal Rights Law and Legal Definition | USLegal, Inc". definitions.uslegal.com. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
22
Horta (2010).
23
That a central goal of animal rights is to eliminate the property status of animals, see Sunstein (2004), p. 11ff.

● For speciesism and fundamental protections, see Waldau (2011).

● For food, clothing, research subjects or entertainment, see Francione (1995), p. 17.

24
The Six Principles of the Abolitionist Approach to Animal Rights.
25
Gary Francione, Eat Like You Care.

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most people would condemn the mistreatment of animals, and in many countries there are
laws that seem to reflect those concerns, "in practice the legal system allows any use of
animals, however abhorrent." The law only requires that any suffering not be
"unnecessary". In deciding what counts as "unnecessary", an animal's interests are weighed
against the interests of human beings, and the latter almost always prevail. 26

Francione's Animals, Property, and the Law (1995) was the first extensive jurisprudential
treatment of animal rights. In it, Francione compares the situation of animals to the
treatment of slaves in the United States, where legislation existed that appeared to protect
them while the courts ignored that the institution of slavery itself rendered the protection
unenforceable. 27

He argues that a focus on animal welfare, rather than animal rights, may worsen the position
of animals by making the public feel comfortable about using them and entrenching the
view of them as property.28

WILDLIFE PROTECTION ACT, 1972

This demonstration is implied for the security of wild creatures and fowls, and there are
arrangements that defend the interests of the creatures.
● It restricts the sacrifice of animals, by Section 39 of the Wildlife protection Act, 1972
there is a streak disallowance on any damage to the creatures and the punishment is
mentioned in segment 51 of the act .
● There is likewise a prohibition on keeping any birds of India under the act. In the event
that anyone wishes to keep a permissible feathered creatures he needs to consent
Cruelty to Animals Act, 1956.29
● Police Power : Section 50 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 approves a cop to
capture any individual without a warrant.30
● Monkeys can’t be shown or possed and are ensured under the Wildlife Protection Act
too.

26
Francione (1990), pp. 4, 17ff.
27
Francione (1995), pp. 4-5.
28
Francione (1996), p.32ff.
29
http: //indianexpress.com.
30
Indiankanoon.org/doc/702677.

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CRUEL TREATMENT OF ANIMAL IS A PUNISHABLE OFFENCE

When an animal is treatment or inflicted cruelty in any of the ways defined under prevention
of Cruelty Act, 1960 then, the offender is liable to pay fine which can extend to rupees fifty
and if it happen to be a subsequent offence or second offence committed within 3 years of the
earlier offence then, the person will get a fine of not less that rupees twenty-five but which can
extend to rupees hundred or with the imprisonment for a term which may extend to three
months or with both. If the offender happens to have a vehicle then, in case of second offence,
the vehicle is confiscated as well as the person is not permitted to keep any animal again in life.

ANIMAL RIGHTS IN INDIA THAT EVERY CITIZEN SHOULD KNOW

India has some of the finest provisions to safeguard animals in the world. For example
did you know it illegal to relocate stay dogs that have been spayed.
Here, Humane Society International/ India gives legislation in relation to animal
welfare in India. There are some of the following :
⮚ It is fundamental duty to every citizen of India to have compassion for all living
creatures. Article 51A(g)31 it also says to protect and improve the natural environment
including forests, lakes, river and to have compassion for living creatures.
⮚ To kill or maim any animals, including stay animals, is a punishable offence. IPC
Section 428 & 429.32
⮚ Abandoning any animal for any reason can land in prison for up to three months.
▪ Section 11 (1) (i) and (j), PCA Act, 1960.33
⮚ No animals (including Chickens) can be slaughtered in any place other than a
slaughterhouse. Sick or pregnant animals shall not be slaughtered. Rule 3, of PCA Act,
1960.
⮚ Stay dogs that have been operated for birth control cannot be captured or relocated by
anybody including any authority. ABC Rules, 2001.34
⮚ Neglecting an animal by denying her sufficient food, water, shelter and exercise or by
keeping him chained/confined for long hours is punishable by a fine or imprisonment
of up to 3 months or both. Section 11(1) (h), PCA Act, 1960.35

31
Indiankanoon.org/doc/867010/
32
Criminal manual, Indian Penal Code, 45 of 1860. P571.
33
Indiankanoon.org/doc/176370.
34
Https://www.hsi.org/news-media/supreme-court-order-street-dog-population-matter-111915/.
35
Indiankanoon.org/doc/176370.

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⮚ Monkeys are protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and cannot be displayed
or owned.
⮚ Bears, monkeys, tiger, panther, lion and bulls are prohibited from being trained and
used for entertainment purpose, either in circuses or streets. Section 22 (ii), PCA Act,
1960.36
⮚ Animal sacrifice is illegal in every part of the country.
⮚ Organizing of or participating in or inciting any animal fight is a cognizable offence.
Section 11 (1) (m) (ii) and Section 11 (1) (n), PCA Act, 1960.

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse, animal neglect or animal cruelty, is the
infliction by omission (neglect) or by commission by humans of suffering or harm upon any
non-human. More narrowly, it can be the causing of harm or suffering for specific achievement,
such as killing animals for entertainment; cruelty to animals sometimes encompasses inflicting
harm or suffering as an end in itself, defined as zoo sadism.
Divergent approaches to laws concerning animal cruelty occur in different jurisdictions
throughout the world. For example, some laws govern methods of killing animals for food,
clothing, or other products, and other laws concern the keeping of animals for entertainment,
education, research, or pets. There are a number of conceptual approaches to the issue of cruelty
to animals.
Some think that the animal welfare position holds that there is nothing inherently wrong with
using animals for human purposes, such as food, clothing, entertainment, fun and research, but
that it should be done in a way that minimizes unnecessary pain and suffering, sometimes
referred to as "humane" treatment. Others have argued that the definition of 'unnecessary'
varies widely and could include virtually all current use of animals.
Utilitarian advocates argue from the position of costs and benefits and vary in their conclusions
as to the allowable treatment of animals. Some utilitarian’s argue for a weaker approach which
is closer to the animal welfare position, whereas others argue for a position that is similar to
animal rights. Animal rights theorists criticize these positions, arguing that the words
"unnecessary" and "humane" are subject to widely differing interpretations, and that animals
have basic rights. They say that most animal use itself is unnecessary and a cause of suffering,
so the only way to ensure protection for animals is to end their status as property and to ensure
that they are never used as a substance or as a non-living thing.

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At last I believe that animals are people too like us, they too are entitled to the rights to life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. As the planet's most valuable inhabitants they. They
deserve our strongest support and care.

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