FIR Registered Against Barbaric Siddipet Goat Sacrifice Following Complaint by SAFI and PETA India Intervention
After receiving a video showing the unlawful and barbaric killing of a goat during Peddamma Bonalu celebrations in Khazipur village, Siddipet district, PETA India worked with Adulapuram Goutham of Stray Animal Foundation India (SAFI), Smt Rashmi Perumal, IPS, the Commissioner of Police, Siddipet, and the Bhoompally police station to get an FIR registered.
A video showing the sacrifice carried out in full public view was posted on an Instagram account. The footage shows men holding the legs of a goat while another man repeatedly bites the animal’s neck to kill the animal.
Acting on the complaint by SAFI, the Bhoompally police station registered an FIR under section 325 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and section 11(1) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960. PETA India is urging the Bhoompally police station to include sections of the Telangana Animals and Birds Sacrifices Prohibition Act, 1950, in the FIR too.
In the complaint, it was pointed out that Section 3 of the Telangana Animals and Birds Sacrifices Prohibition Act, 1950, strictly prohibits sacrificing any animal in any place of public religious worship or adoration, or in its precincts, or in any congregation or procession connected with any religious worship in a public street. Section 4 prohibits any person from officiating or offering to officiate at – or perform or offer to perform; or serve, assist or participate in or offer to serve, assist or participate in – sacrificing any animal in any place of public religious worship or adoration or its precincts or in any congregation or procession connected with any religious worship in a public street. Section 5 prohibits the use of a place of public religious worship or adoration or its precincts for sacrificing animals by any person in possession of such temple.
Also, PETA India highlighted that killing animals illegally by several persons in furtherance of a common intention is a punishable offence under Section 3(5) of the BNS, 2023. Under Section 325 of the BNS, mischievously killing animals is punishable with imprisonment for a term that may extend to five years, a fine, or both.
Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Puducherry, and Rajasthan already have laws in place prohibiting the religious sacrifice of any animal in any temple or its precinct. Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana prohibit it in any place of public religious worship, adoration, its precinct, or any congregation or procession connected with religious worship on a public street.
Animal sacrifice is not only an act of cruelty toward animals but also a broader danger to society. It gradually desensitises the public to violence and reinforces obsolete beliefs that hinder progress. Just as human sacrifice is now treated as murder, at a time when India is embarking on space missions and hosting AI summits, the archaic practice of animal sacrifice must end. It is a necessity for our societal evolution.
Ending animal sacrifice is not merely a matter of animal protection; it is essential for societal evolution. Moving away from these practices reflects a commitment to empathy, progress, and a more enlightened future.
