Comparative Analysis of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

Act, India and Federal Law 16 Concerning Animal Protection,

UAE

The PCA Act was enacted in India in 1960 and has gone through several amendments in the
past years, the last one being in 2016. One feature that has not been revised though, are the
fines and penalties imposed on people for violation of the rules encoded in the Act. The fines
imposed have not been revised since the predecessor of the Act- Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals Act, 1890 (11 of 1890), was first introduced during the colonial rule. After about
130 years since the enactment of the act, the fines still remain the same as the ones in the
1890 Act. This is the major failing of the Indian PCA Act, which otherwise contains
comprehensive laws on the treatment, conduct and care towards animals.

On the other hand, while the UAE legislation is brief and merely touches upon various topics
concerning treatment of animals, the Laws impose heavy penalty on offenders. The
difference in the penalties imposed by the Indian and UAE legislations are beyond
comparison. The fines permitted in Indian laws range between ₹50 to ₹1000 while the UAE
fines range from 50,000 to 2,00,000 AED which approximately amounts to ₹10.5lakhs to
₹42.3lakhs. The penalties play a huge role in the effectivity of the laws. While the Indian
legislation is flouted frequently with no fear of law because of the lack of any strict
punishment, the UAE has managed to limit the cruelty subjected on animals in the State
through the implementation of strict punishments and penalties.

Apart from the degree of penalties, the Indian and UAE legislations differ in a few other
ways-

1. Experimentation on Animals-
The PCA Act goes into great detail about the permissible conducts and standards
which are to be followed by laboratories whose research relies on experimentation on
animals
 The UAE legislation only mentions that such labs or persons need to get authorized
by the concerned authorities prior to conducting tests on animals. The legislation does
not touch upon the other aspects of conduct towards animals who are employed in
such experimentations.

Despite having strict and comprehensive laws, India imposes a fine with an upper
limit of merely ₹200 while the UAE laws imposes AED 50,000 to 2,00,000 for
experimentation on animals without a permit.

2. Animal Sexual Abuse-

The PCA Act contains no provisions on the criminalization of committing sexual acts
on animals while the UAE legislation explicitly prohibits sexual abuse on animals and
imposes a fine up to 2,00,000 AED and/or 1 year imprisonment.

This is not to say that India does not criminalize bestiality. There are provisions
against the crime in India Penal Code under section 377, but the crime is not
mentioned in the PCA Act.

3. Destruction of Animals on the Discretion of Appropriate Authorities-

The UAE legislation does not mention the discretionary destruction of animals by
authorities under any special circumstances.

In the PCA Act, s.13 permits the authorities to carry out destruction of suffering
animals if s.11 applies to the case and the court is satisfied that it would be cruel to
keep the animal alive and the assent of the owner has been obtained.
The authorities which may authorize destruction includes- magistrate, commissioner
of police or district superintendent of police, any police officer above the rank of a
constable or any person authorised by the State Government in this behalf.

Some unique provisions in PCA Act, 1960 which are not included in UAE Federal Law 16-
1. S. 11(b)- The act of employing an animal in work or labour would amount to cruelty
if the animal were unfit for such work due to age, disease, injury, or sore.
2. S. 12- Penalty for practicing phooka or doom dev on cows or any milch animals to
improve lactation which is injurious to the health of the animal.
 3. S.28- Exception to the killing of animal in manner provided in the religion of any
community

Conclusion
Despite being a more comprehensive and detailed legislation, the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals Act, 1960 proves to be ineffective because of the merger fines and punishments
warranted under the act. The minuscule fines do not induce a sense of fear the consequences
of violating law which is essential for the adherence to the rule of law.

UAE has managed to formulate an effective and efficient legislation by increasing the
deterrence as any violation would result in the imposition of hefty fines. This ensures that the
rights of animals are looked after and that they are not subjected to cruelty or torture by
humans.