FIR Registered in Pune for Torturing Pigs, Following PETA India Complaint

After learning of disturbing videos posted on two Instagram accounts showing severe abuse and unlawful killing of pigs, PETA India worked with Pune-based activist Shweta Borgaonkar and the Senior Police Inspector of Laxminagar police station, Shri Ravindra Kadam, to ensure that a first information report (FIR) was registered under the relevant provisions of the law.

The videos depict various acts of extreme cruelty towards pigs. In one video, a piglet whose legs have been tied is restrained on a stone slab while an individual strikes the animal on the head. As the piglet visibly struggles in pain and distress, several others gathered around laugh, clap, and cheer. Other videos show the accused and members of his family participating in what appears to be rituals during which pigs are killed. In one such video, a pig appears to be stabbed while still conscious, and later footage shows the animal’s burned carcass.

Acting on the complaint, Laxminagar police station registered an FIR against four individuals accused in the heinous crime under Sections 3(5) and 325 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and Sections 3, 11(1)(a), 11(1)(i) and 38 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960. Section 325 of the BNS, 2023, categorises mischief by killing, poisoning, maiming, or rendering useless of any animal as a cognizable offence and prescribes a punishment of imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years, or with a fine, or with both. Section 3(5) of BNS states that when several persons do a criminal act in furtherance of the common intention of all, each of them is liable for that act as if it were done by them alone. Section 11 of the PCA Act, 1960, defines “cruelty” and makes the infliction of unnecessary pain or suffering upon any animal a punishable offence.

The Supreme Court has ordered that animals can be slaughtered only in licensed slaughterhouses and that municipal authorities must ensure compliance with this ruling. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Slaughterhouse) Rules, 2001, and the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011, permit the slaughter of animals for food only in licensed slaughterhouses equipped with species-specific stunning equipment.

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.”