Kurukshetra: Eight Booked for Beating Dog to Death Following PETA India Complaint 

For Immediate Release:

27 May 2024

Contact:  

Meet Ashar; [email protected] 

Hiraj Laljani; [email protected] 

Kurukshetra – After learning through a viral video that a group of men had beaten a dog to death by repeatedly hitting the animal with sticks, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India filed a formal complaint with Ladwa Police Station. After killing the dog, who appeared to be a boxer, the accused wrapped the body in a net and disposed of it at an unknown location.  

Based on PETA India’s complaint, a first information report (FIR) was registered against the eight men alleged to be involved in the killing under sections 428 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, and 11(1)(a) of The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960. PETA India is now calling on the police to add sections 201 and 429 of the IPC, 1860, and Section 11(1)(l) of the PCA Act, 1960, to ensure that the perpetrators of this crime are punished to the fullest extent of the law. Section 429 of the IPC is a stringent provision which makes the maiming or killing of any animal a cognisable offence and provides for a jail term of up to five years, a fine, or both. 

“Those who abuse animals often move on to harming humans. For everyone’s safety, it’s imperative that members of the public report cases of cruelty to animals such as this one,” says PETA India Cruelty Response Coordinator Sunayana Basu. “We commend the station house officer of Ladwa Police Station, Inspector Naresh Kumar, for promptly registering an FIR and sending the message that cruelty to animals won’t be tolerated.” 

PETA India recommends that perpetrators of animal abuse undergo 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 animal cruelty were [three] times more likely to commit other crimes, including murder, rape, robbery, assault, harassment, threats, and drug/substance abuse.” 

PETA India – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way” – has long campaigned for strengthening the PCA Act, 1960, which contains outdated, inadequate penalties, such as a maximum fine of only Rs 50 for convicted first-time offenders (although the IPC prescribes stronger punishments). In a proposal sent to the central government regarding an amendment to the act, PETA India 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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