Jalpaiguri: Police Register FIR for Cruel Capture and Relocation of Puppy, Following PETA India Intervention
Following reports from local activist Krishnayan Dasgupta and video showing that a community puppy was injured, cruelly caught and stuffed into a sack by two individuals before being relocated from the Senpara area of Jalpaiguri—PETA India, worked with the Kotwali police station to ensure that a first information report (FIR) was registered. Based on the local activist’s complaint, the FIR was registered against both accused under Section 325 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and Section 11(1)(a) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960.
In the complaint, it has been stated that the two accused persons first beat the puppy with a stick, then tightly bound the puppy’s mouth with a rope, severely restricting the puppy’s ability to breathe or cry out, before placing the frightened dog inside a sack and securing it shut. The sack was then taken to an unknown and distant location. Police are attempting to locate the puppy or the body.
Section 325 of the BNS, 2023, categorises the maiming or killing of any animal as a cognisable offence and prescribes a punishment of imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years, or with a fine, or with both. Section 11(l)(l) of the PCA Act, 1960, makes the act of mutilating any animal or killing any animal (including community dogs) a cognisable and punishable offence.
Those who abuse animals often move on to harming humans. For everyone’s safety, it’s imperative that members of the public report cruelty to animals such as this one to the police. We commend the Jalpaiguri police for registering the FIR and sending a clear message that cruelty to animals will not be tolerated.
PETA India recommends that perpetrators of animal abuse undergo a psychiatric evaluation and receive counselling, as abusing animals indicates a deep psychological disturbance. Research shows that people who commit acts of cruelty to animals are often repeat offenders who move on to hurting other animals, including humans. A study published in Forensic Research & Criminology International Journal stated, “Those who engage in cruelty to animals to animals were [three] times more likely to commit other crimes, including murder, rape, robbery, assault, harassment, threats, and drug/substance abuse.”
PETA India notes that community dogs are often subjected to cruelty or struck by cars and commonly suffer from starvation, disease, or injury. Every year, many end up in animal shelters, where they languish in cages or kennels for lack of enough good homes. The solution is simple: sterilisation and adoption from the streets or shelters. Sterilising one female dog can prevent 67,000 births over six years, and sterilising one female cat can prevent 420,000 births over seven years.
