Kerala Police Academy Welcomes PETA India in Leading Workshop to Combat Cruelty to Animals
For Immediate Release:
11 September 2026
Contact:
Meet Ashar; [email protected]
Varulika Dixit; [email protected]
Thrissur –This week, nearly 100 police officers, most of whom are cadet sub-inspectors undergoing training at Kerala Police Academy (KEPA), Thrissur, participated in a workshop conducted by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals India (PETA India) on combating cruelty to animals. The workshop was held on 9 September in the conference hall of the administrative block of the Kerala Police Academy (KEPA) in Thrissur.
The important initiative was made possible under the visionary leadership of Shri H Venkatesh, IPS, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Crime Branch, Kerala, formerly ADGP Law and Order; and Shri K. Sethu Raman, IPS, Inspector General of Police and Director of KEPA. Over 70 cadet sub-inspectors from across Kerala, who are undergoing a one-year training at KEPA, participated in the four-hour workshop. The workshop covered the provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960; the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (as amended in 2022); the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023; and other relevant laws. The workshop was also attended by serving assistant sub-inspectors, sub-inspectors, inspectors, and the Deputy Superintendent of Police posted at KEPA.
Photos from the sensitisation program are available upon request.
“Police play a crucial role in ensuring that cruelty to animals is addressed and prevented. PETA India is pleased to support the Kerala Police in applying animal protection laws and procedures to save animals’ lives and to protect them from harm,” says Meet Ashar, PETA India’s Legal Advisor and Director of Cruelty Response. “On behalf of animals and society at large, we are thankful to Shri K. Sethu Raman, IPS, Inspector General of Police and Director of KEPA, for inviting PETA India to sensitise police officials on animal protection.”
Recently, for the first time, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) tracked cases of cruelty against animals in the country and compiled data, noting the registration of 9,039 cases and the arrest of 10,312 persons in 2024.
In 2021, the Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organization’s released a report revealing that in the decade prior, nearly 500,000 animals were victims of crimes.
PETA India notes that many violent criminals have a documented history of cruelty to animals. A study published in Forensic Research and Criminology International Journal warns, “Those who engage in cruelty to animals were [three] times more likely to commit other crimes, including murder, rape, robbery, assault, harassment, threats, and drug/substance abuse.”
This initiative is part of PETA India’s ongoing efforts to sensitise law enforcement personnel and empower animal rights activists across India to ensure that crimes against animals are addressed with the seriousness they deserve. Similar sensitisation workshops have previously been conducted with the Border Security Force in Gwalior; the Chhattisgarh State Police; the Goa State Police and Goa Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Services; the Sikkim State Police; Pune City Police; Nagpur City Police; Mira-Bhayandar and Vasai-Virar Police; Belagavi district police; Hubli-Dharwad district police; Bengaluru City Police; Jammu, Kathua and Samba district police; Bengaluru and Chikkamagaluru Police Training Schools; and Central District Delhi Police.
PETA India – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way” – has long campaigned to strengthen the PCA Act, 1960, which contains outdated, inadequate penalties, such as a maximum fine of only Rs 50 for convicted first-time offenders (although the BNS, 2023, and WPA, 1972, prescribe stronger punishments). In a proposal sent to the central government regarding an amendment to the PCA Act, PETA India has recommended significantly increasing penalties for cruelty to animals.
For more information, please visit PETAIndia.com or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
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