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LEX EXPLORE

“Animal Welfare Rights in India in context to the world”


Method of study:
- Scientific Approach, Legal Approach & Humanitarian Approach

12/19/2022
Er. Amit Bose; B. Tech( LL.B)
Ex-Volunteer( Wildlife Crime Control Bureau )
Email:- sb_05123@rediffmail.com

Abstract

Quote:- “ The Greatness of a nation & it’s moral progress can be judged
by
the way it’s animals are treated”.

Opening Statement:- The above statement means “ the more helpless a


creature , the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of
man.”
The Constitution of India lay down the protection and treatment
animals
of with dignity as a
The Constitutional Framework of animal protection in India is
fundamental duty of it’s citizens.
described in the following parts i.e.:
-

1). Fundamental Rights ( Part )III


2). Directive Principles of State Policy ( Part
) IV
3). Fundamental Duties ( Part-AIV)
4). Judicial Authority of Courts ( Article 141 & 144 ); &
7th Schedule
5). Allocation of powers between the Union & the State ( )

Animal rights in the world vary greatly among countries & territories. United
TheNations (UN)
pass the first resolution recognizing animal rights i.e. UNIVERSAL
the DECLARATION of
ANIMAL WELFARE which states that the importance of the sentience of animals & human
responsibilities towards them.
All animals haveheir
t own distinct position in the food chain & food web also &
their killing leads to ecological imbalances.
So, one must make sure that humans not to encroach their territory & if this
happens then surely human -animal conflict will arise.
So , there is a need to aware people by
conducting awareness campaign & check - balancemethod via Scien tific study, Legal study and
Humanitarian study. The Earth is ours’ so it’s the responsibility of every human beings to
protect and preserve the environment i.e. animals including wildlife, forest and water bodies.

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Index
1. Introduction Animal Welfare Rights
2. Objective Animal Welfare Rights
3. Methodological study on Animal Welfare Right
4. Definition and Scope of Animal Welfare
5. Definition of Cruelty
6. Kingdom of Animal ,Plants ,Fungi and Eubacteria
7. Animal Order
8. Mythological study
i . Animal welfare in Islam
ii. Animal welfare in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhis
iii. Animal welfare in Christianity
9. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960
10. Loopholes in Legal Provision
11. Case laws related to Animal Welfare’s
A. Animal Welfare Board of India(AWBI) v/s. A. Nagaraja
&
12. Judicial developments in cow slaughter
In the case of Abdul Hakim Qureshi v. State of Bihar (1961)
13. Misc. topics: Six reasons why meat is bad for the environment
14. Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare
15. Conclusion

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Introduction : To know what Animal Welfare Rights is all about
first of

all we will study about humans and the evolution of humans because
both correlate with each other. We will study about of human
classification by scientific method also. So, to start first we probably
know that modern humans belong to the species Homo-sapiens.
Humans can move on their own and are placed in the animal
kingdom. Further, humans belong to the animal phylum known as
Chordates because we have a backbone. The human animal has
hair and milk glands, so we are placed in the class of mammals.
Within the mammal class, humans are placed in the primate
order. Humans are placed at the top level of the food chain and
food web. We share between 93% to 99% of our DNA with
monkeys, apes (Chimpanzees, Gorillas,Orangutans).
Primate Traits:- Some primate Traits are discussed below:-

1).Primates have five digits on each extremity which means they


have five fingers or toes on each hand or foot.
2).The fingers and toes have nails instead of claws and thumbs
allow a power grasp and precision grip.
3).The body structure of primate is generally erector semi-erect.

4).Primates can walk on all four legs, vertical climb, swing or


walk on two legs (which applies on our own species today).
The closest relative in the primate order is called Hominidae and any
member of this family is called Hominid. Humans are the only
habitually bipedal species of living hominids. Because of our big
and complex brain we have a much greater capacity to think.

The scientific study says and proves that humans are classified as
animals and are placed at the top of the animal kingdom. The most
important reason to exist at the top of the animal kingdom is because
human beings are intelligent and have the capacity to think and take
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decision and are adaptable in nature. These traits makes humans
stronger than other animals in the animal kingdom.
So, now we can say that as humans are the stronger section in the
animal kingdom who can speak, think, fight, protest, etc. hence, it is
the moral duty of the humans to protect the animals who are claimed
to be the weaker section and are voiceless in nature.

Objective:- The objectives are stated below:-


1).To study the definition and scope of animal welfare rights.
2).To study the definition of cruelty as per law.
3).To study how killing of animals effect the environment by
scientific method.
4).To study animal welfare laws defined in various religions by
mythological study.
5).To study about human-animal conflict.
6).To study about various legal provisions in India.
7).To find out loopholes in legal provisions.
8).To study the cases related to cruelty to animals in India and
various landmark judgments passed in this regard.
9).About Bali Pratha and Quarbani.
10).Misc. topics
Methodology:- The research methodology involves scientific study,
legal study, mythological study and humanitarian study. The scientific
study involves data collected by the person himself from various
biological journals and textbooks. The legal study involves various
kinds of legal provisions in India in context to the world. The
mythological study involves what various religions define about
animal welfare and what are the duties of humans towards animals
and environment as a humanitarian approach.

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Definition and Scope of Animal Welfare:- Animal welfare means
an animal in good state of condition such as healthy, comfortable,
well nourished, safe, and if is not suffering from any unpleasant states
such as pain, fear and distress. Good animal welfare requires disease
prevention, proper veterinary treatment, appropriate shelter, rescue
and proper care and maintenance of animals and wild animals.
An English dramatist “John Webster” defines animal welfare by
advocating three positive conditions i.e. living a natural life,
being fit and healthy and being happy.
Mahatma Gandhi quoted, “The Greatness of a nation and it’s
moral progress can be judged by the way it’s animals are treated”
which means the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is
to protection by man from the cruelty of man.
Scope:- In recent years, animal welfare itself is recognized as a
branch of science. The scope of animal welfare activities is getting
wider day by day. Specialized programs are being undertaken to
aware human- animal conflicts. Animal welfare is important because
so many animals around the world is suffering from being used for
entertainment, experiment, food, fashion & as exotic pets.
Hence,every animal deserves to have a good life.
Definition of Cruelty:- Basically the term “ Cruelty ” means any act
of inflicting unnecessary physical or mental pain on living creatures.
Living creatures means animals and humans. Cruelty to animals refers
to the above given meaning also.

“Killing or Mass Killing of animals by any method effect the


environment ( Scientific study )”: All animals (domesticated or
wild) have their own distinct position in the food chain and food web
and their killings leads to ecological imbalances. Before researching,
we must go through animal kingdom and it’s classification. As we
have studied earlier that humans are classified as homo-sapiens while
wolves are canis lupus. Every species is divided into nine categories.
The primary method of animal classification is :-

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1).Domain
2). Kingdom
3).Phylum.
4). Class
5).Order.
6). Sub-order
7). Animal families.
8).Genus, and
9).Species

Kingdom:- Some different animal kingdom are stated below:-


1).Animals:- Animals are those multi-celled organisms that do not
have ability to produce their own food. So, to survive they prey on
other animals. This kingdom contains all living and extinct animals.
For example:- Elephants, Whales , Humans, etc. Further animals are
classified as carnivores, herbivores and omnivores.

2).Plants:- Plants are complex and multi-cellular auto-trophic


organisms which means they have the ability to produce their own
food through photosynthesis. For example:- Trees, Flowers and Grass,
etc. Some plants are heterotrophic in nature which means they don’t
have the ability to produce their own food. So, to survive they prey on
other organisms and are termed as “Parasites”. For example:-
Raffelesia, Pitcher Plant Venus Fly trap, etc.

3).Fungi:- Fungi are multi-celled organisms that do not have the


ability to produce their own food. For example:- Mushrooms, yeast ,
etc.

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4).Eubacteria: It is a single celled organism found in everything from
yoghurt to intestines.

Phylum:- Some phylum are stated below:-


1).Mollusca:- Mollusca are the invertebrates with soft segmented
bodies. For example:- Snails.
2).Arthropoda:- Arthropoda are the invertebrate animals with an
exoskeleton and segmented bodies. For example:- Insects, butterflies
and shrimp.
3.)Chordata:- Chordata are the vertebrates i.e. animals with spine or
backbone. For example:- Dogs, Horses, Birds, Tigers and Humans
fall in this category.

Animal Order:- Some of the animals order are stated below:-


1).Artiodactyla:- They are even-toed hooded animal such as camels,
giraffes and moose.
2).Carnivora:- Carnivores are further classified as Felidae(Cats),
Canidae (Dogs ) & Ursidae (Bear).
3).Rodents:- Includes mice, squirrels,etc.
4).Primates:- Includes hands and feet, commonly with thumbs. For
example:- Humans ,Gorillas, Orangutans, Chimpanzees ,etc.

All animals play an important role in constructing a food chain and


food web and all of them correlate with each other. If any of the
species goes missing in the food chain and food web then ecological
imbalances arise.

Killing or mass killing of species by any method effect the


environment in various ways which are stated below:-

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1).Carnivores which are mostly killed or hunted down by people, play
a vital role in the balance of ecosystem. Humans should stop hunting
the animals normally they prey on.
2).Disturbance in carnivore population leads to damage of crops,
alterations of stream structures and variation of huge amount,
diversity of birds, invertebrates, mammals and reptiles.
3).The killing of carnivore leads to an increase in browsing animals
like deer and elk.
4).Killing of herbivores leads to an increase in the forests as well as
causing imbalance in the ecosystem, leading carnivore to prey upon
human habitats or frequent preying.

Mythological study:-
1) Animal welfare in Islam:- Islam is the religion of compassion and
affection. Prophet Mohammed preached brotherhood, compassion,
mercy, mutual cooperation and trustworthiness all of his life. Islam
states that all living creatures including humans, animals, birds and
insects are precious for consideration and deserve respect , since
Islam view them as Allah’s creations. Islam strongly enforces it’s
followers to treat animals with compassion and not to abuse them.
In Islam, humans have been directed not to waste the lives of
animals and are also held responsible for their well-being and
feed.

The Prophet said, “When you hear the barking of dogs and the
braying of asses at night” it reveals some of the animals have the
capacity to foresee the natural events such as flood , earthquake ,
hurricane , etc. that causes great damage or loss of life. Hence,
they need more attention from the mankind.
In Quran, it is mentioned that earth is not only meant to be used by
humans but for all living creatures be it insects, rodents, animals,
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birds or water creatures. The significance of animals in Islam is
evident from the fact that out of 114 Suras(Chapetrs) in the Holy
Quran six have been named after them. Among these Al-
Baqarah( The Cow, II), AnNaml (TheAnt, XXVII), Al-
Ankabut( TheSpider ,XXIX) and Al-Fil
(TheElephant,Cv)

Besides these there’re numerous verses in different chapters that deal


with animals. These citations in Holy Quran reflect the fact that along
with human beings, animals have their rights. Every living organism
in the universe is worth and is part of the human society. Therefore,
Muslims are required to treat them with compassion and not to abuse
them.
Prophet Mohammed was sent on the earth as compassion and
mercy, not only for mankind but also for the animals ( XXI :
107 ). In this regard he forbade the people from harming and
torturing the animals. On different occasions he prohibited the
people from dragging, mutilating, branding the animals or
making them fight with each other. Moreover, he also prohibited
the people from caging the birds as he declared it a painful act.
He also prohibited from killing nonhazardous tiny creatures like
ants, bees, frogs, etc. Once, a man said to the Holy Prophet that
he was going to slaughter a sheep and then felt sorry for the
sheep. The Holy Prophet said, “Since you showed mercy to the
sheep , Allah will show mercy to you”.

Reward and punishment for treatment of animals in Islam:- Islam


has surprised the world by qualifying a person to heaven for being
kind to animals and to hell for I’ll treatment. Following Hadiths are
eye-openers to the mercy of this religion in this context.

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a) On one occasion, the Holy Prophet narrated a story that a
man felt very thirsty while he was travelling. He came across a
well, went down and quenched his thirst. When he came out, he
saw a dog panting and licking mud because of excessive thirst. He
said to himself that this dog is suffering from the same thirst as I
did.
So, he went down the well again and filled his shoe with water and
watered the dog. Allah rewarded him for the deed and forgave his
sin.

b) It is reported that the Messenger of Allah said that a woman


punished her cat by imprisoning it until it died of hunger.
Because of this she entered the fire which means hell.
Hence, from the above discourse, it can be judged that Islam is
the religion of peace and compassion.

1)Animal welfare in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism:- The


respect for animal rights in Jainism, Hinduism and Buddhism derives
from the doctrine of ' Ahimsa '. In Hinduism, animals contain a soul
just like humans, when living beings die , they can either be re-
incarnated as a human or as an animal. Almost every Jain community
in India has established animal hospitals to care for injured and
abandoned animals.
Many Jain’s also rescue animals from slaughter houses. Jain doctrine
mandates vegetarianism while on the other hand Hinduism partially
mandates vegetarianism and Buddhism similarly practice
vegetarianism and prohibits the killing of animals.

2) Animal welfare in Christianity:- The Bible and the Judaic-


Christian tradition teach and command us to treat animals with
kindness and respect. The Bible also forbids cruelty to domestic
animals. Legal Study:- The Constitution of India lays down the
protection and treatment of animals with dignity as a fundamental

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duty of it’s citizens. The Constitutional Framework of animal
protection in India is described in the following parts i.e.
1)Fundamental Rights:- The Fundamental Rights of India are stated
in Part III ( Article 12 to Article 35 ) of the constitution. These rights
are constitutionally guaranteed rights essential for the existence and
development of all individuals. Violation of fundamental right is
considered as a breach and any individual can approach to the
Supreme Court of India directly under Article 32 for constitutional
remedies. Relevant to animal welfare is the fundamental right to life
under Article
21.
2)Directive Principles of State policy:- These are the 15 principles
stated in Part IV ( Article 36 to Article 51 ) of the constitution which
gives direction to the states on which State should frame laws and
policies. DPSP are not enforceable in any court.
However, it is the duty of the states to apply them in making laws for
the constitution. Three Directive Principles form the foundation of
state policies on animal welfare in India i.e. Article 48 and Article
48A.
3)Fundamental Duties:- The Fundamental Duties are stated in
Article 51A ( Part IV – A ) of the constitution. Fundamental Duties
are not enforceable in court of law. Article 51A(g) states that , “ It
shall be the duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve the
natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers, and wildlife and
to have compassion for living creatures.
4) Allocation of powers between the Centre and the States:- In the
context of animal rights, the following matters have been
allocated in the State and Concurrent List.
a) Item 14 of the State List provides that the States have the power
to preserve, protect, improve stock, prevent animal diseases and
enforce veterinary training and practice.

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The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960:
The basic cruelty law of India is contained in the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals Act 1960. The objective of the Act is to prevent
the infliction of unnecessary pain or suffering on animals and to
amend the laws relating to the prevention of cruelty to animals. The
Act defines “animal” as any living creature other than a human being.
In accordance with Chapter II of the Act, the Government of
India established the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI)
with some of the following functions:

1) Advising the central government regarding amendments and


rules to prevent unnecessary pain while transporting animals,
performing experiments on animals or storing animals in captivity.

2) Encouragement of financial assistance, rescue homes and animal


shelters for old animals.

3) Advising the government on medical care and regulations for


animal hospitals.

4) Imparting education and awareness on humane treatment of


animals, to prevent unnecessary pain while transporting animals,
performing experiments on animals or storing animals in captivity.

The Act enumerates different variants of cruelty to animals under


Section 11 as the following actions:

a)Beating, kicking, overriding, overloading, torturing and causing


unnecessary pain to any animal.

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b) Using an old or injured or unfit animal for work (the punishment
applies to the owner as well as the user).
c) Administering an injurious drug/medicine to any animal.
d) Carrying an animal in any vehicle in a way that causes it pain and
discomfort.
e) Keeping any animal in a cage where it doesn’t have reasonable
opportunity of movement.
f) Keeping an animal on an unreasonably heavy or short chain for an
unreasonable period of time.
g) Keeping an animal in total and habitual confinement with no
reasonable opportunity to exercise.
h) Being an owner failing to provide the animal with sufficient food,
drink or shelter.
i) Abandoning an animal without reasonable cause.
j) Willfully permitting an owned animal to roam on streets or leaving
it on the streets to die of disease, old age or disability.
k) Offering for sale an animal which is suffering pain due to
mutilation, starvation, thirst, overcrowding or other ill- treatment.
l) Mutilating or killing animals through cruel manners such as using
strychnine injections.
m) Using an animal as bait for another animal solely for
entertainment.
n) Organizing, keeping, using or managing any place for animal
fighting.
o) Shooting an animal when it is released from captivity for such
purpose.

Part IV of the Act covers Experimentation of animals. The Act does


not render unlawful experimentation on animals for the purpose of

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advancement by new discovery of physiological knowledge or
knowledge to combat disease, whether of human beings, animals or
plants. It envisages the creation of a Committee for control and
supervision of experiments on animals by the central government
which even has the power to prohibit experimentation if so required.
Chapter V covers the area of performing animals. Section 22 prohibits
exhibiting or training an animal without registration with the AWBI.
The Section prohibits animals such as monkeys, bears, lions, tigers,
panthers and bulls from being utilized as performing animals.
Treating animals cruelly is punishable with a fine of Rs.10 which may
extend to Rs.50 on first conviction. On subsequent conviction within
three years of a previous offence, it is punishable with a fine of Rs.25
which may extend to Rs.100 or imprisonment of three months or with
both. The government further has the power to forfeit or seize or
destroy the animal. The Indian Penal Code (IPC) 1860 is the
official criminal code of India which covers all substantive aspects
of criminal law. Section 428 and 429 of the IPC provides for
punishment of all acts of cruelty such as killing, poisoning,
maiming, beating, etc.

Loopholes in Legal Provision:- The Union government has proposed


an amendment to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act , 1960 to
increase penalties against animal cruelty from Rs 50 to Rs.75000 or ,
“ three times the cost of an animal “ besides upto 5 years of
imprisonment.
This approach is steeped in caste and class elitism and is unlikely to
help stopping animal cruelty. Therefore, higher penalties may be
unlikely lower the cruel incidents of animal murder and puppy
violence. The anti-cruelty animal rights movement is not seeking
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act Amendments to enforce strictly
against large scale industrial meat farms or slaughter houses that
profit off the cruelty of millions of animals.

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Case laws related to Animal Welfare:-
Animal Welfare Board of India(AWBI) v/s. A.Nagaraja & Ors.
Facts:- Jallikattu is a traditional sport practiced in the Indian state of
Tamil Nadu where a bull is released into a crowd of people who then
attempt to grab onto the hump on the bull’s back and hang onto it
while the bull attempts to escape. The tradition has seen several
human deaths over the years alongside animal welfare concerns.
Before the bulls are released, they are prodded with sharp sticks or
scythes, their tails are bent to extreme lengths so as to fracture the
vertebrae and even bitten. There are reports of the bulls being forced
to drink alcohol or chilli peppers being rubbed into their eyes for
disorientation and aggravation. During the event, the bulls are stabbed
by knives and sticks, punched, jumped on and dragged to the ground.
If not enclosed, the bulls may run into ongoing traffic resulting in
broken bones or death.
A case was filed in the Supreme Court of India by the Animal
Welfare Board of India (AWBI) in 2010 to ban Jallikattu due to
concerns of animal cruelty and public safety. Jallikattu was banned in
2011 by the Ministry of Environment and Forests which issued a
notification banning the use of bulls as performing animals. However,
the practice continued to be held under certain conditions under the
Tamil Nadu Regulation of Jallikattu Act (2007). This case was an
appeal filed by the AWBI against a High Court decision allowing for
Jallikattu to be conducted upon compliance with the Tamil Nadu Act.
The AWBI sought to enforce the government notification barring
bulls from being exhibited or being trained as performing animals.

Ruling:- The Supreme Court ruled in favour of the AWBI and upheld
the enforcement of the ban on Jallikattu. It held that Article 51A (g)
of the
Constitution is the “magna carta of animal rights” and made several
observations to safeguard the “life” of animals under Article 21.

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The Right to Life of Animals:- With regard to Article 21, the
Supreme Court notably held: Every species has a right to life and
security, subject to the law of the land. Article 21 of the Constitution,
while safeguarding the rights of humans, protects life and the word
“life” has been given an expanded definition and any disturbance
from the basic environment which includes all forms of life, including
animal life, which are necessary for human life, fall within the
meaning of Article 21 of the Constitution.

Judicial developments in cow slaughter


In the case of Abdul Hakim Qureshi v. State of Bihar (1961), the
Supreme Court heard a petition regarding the constitutionality of cow
slaughter ban laws in Bihar. The Petitioner contended that the laws
breached the fundamental right to freedom of religion (under Article
25)of Muslims by preventing them from freely practicing traditions of
their religion such as sacrificing cows on Bakr-Id Day. The Supreme
Court of India upheld that none of the Islamic texts like the Hadith or
the Quran mandated cow slaughter and they allowed for a goat or
camel to be sacrificed instead. Therefore, according to the Court a
total ban on cow slaughter did not infringe on the religious freedom of
Muslims. In the context of Article 48, the Court held that directive
only applies to cows, calves and other animals which have the
potential of yielding milk or have the capacity to work as drought.
Therefore, Article 48 does not envisage a prohibition on the slaughter
of all cows or cattle.
In the case of Mohd. Hanif Qureshi v. State of Bihar (1959) where
the Supreme Court held that “A total ban [on cattle slaughter] was not
permissible if, under economic conditions, keeping useless bull or
bullock be a burden on the society and therefore not in the public
interest."
(See "Report of the National Commission on Cattle - Chapter I (8.The
genesis of cow slaughter in India)". Department of Animal
Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries (DAHD).

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The position was overruled in State of Gujarat v. Mirzapur Moti
Kureshi Kassab Jamat (2005) where the Supreme Court held that
Article 48 envisions a total ban on the slaughter of cows and their
progeny. It observed that cattle which has served the human species
must be treated with compassion in its old age even though it is
useless. The Court also ruled that "it was evident from the combined
reading of Articles 48 and 51- A(g) of the [Indian] Constitution that
citizens must show compassion to the animal kingdom. The animals
have their own fundamental rights. Article 48 specifically lays down
that the state shall endeavour to prohibit the slaughter.

Bali Pratha and Quarbani:- Islam states to slaughter humanely ,


but, what exactly is “ humane “ slaughter? The word humane” in
Islam defined as, “ having or showing compassion “ towards all living
creatures in earth.
Can someone imagine, “how does one “compassionately” cut
someone’s throat? Can someone compassionately cut someone’s
throat of his blood relation? Can anyone imagine the pain in the above
questions? Actually pain and laws are equal and same for all living
creatures. Once Ibn-Ilyas reported ,A man said , “ O Messenger of
Allah , I was going to slaughter a sheep but I had mercy on it “.
The Messenger of Allah said, ‘if you had mercy on the sheep then
Allah will have mercy on you twice “.(AlAdab Al-
Mufrad,373,Book20,Hadith373).

The practice of Hindu animal sacrifice is mostly associated with


Shaktism. However, animal sacrifices were part of the ancient
Vedic religion in India and are mentioned in scriptures such as
Yajurveda. This practice declined during the formation of
Hinduism as Hindu scriptures like the Puranas and the Bhagvad
Gita forbid animal sacrifice. Animal sacrifice is still practiced in
the states of Assam, Odhisa, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura

17
and Nepal. The sacrifice involves slaying of goats , chickens ,
pigeons, and male water buffaloes.

We can now observe that no religion teaches us to kill animals


whether for food or for some other use. Instead every religion teaches
us to have compassion towards all living creatures. Because mass
killing leads to ecological destruction. God who is the sole creator of
the earth and the universe directs human beings to protect and have
compassion towards all living creatures. Animals are voiceless and
they can’t speak for themselves and their rights too but they can
express their feeling i.e. pain, suffering, happy , sad , anger , etc. So,
pain is same if one offers Bali and the other offers Quarbani hence
these kind of mal- practices should be stopped by humans only. Every
religion teaches us to have mercy.

Human-animal Conflict:- Human-animal conflict generally occurs


when growing human/animal populations overlap with established
wildlife/human territory creating a reduction of resources or life or
some people and / or wild animals. The main reason for human-
animal conflict includes habitat loss, growth of the population of wild
animals, changing cropping patterns that attract wild animals to
farmlands, movement of wild animals from forest area to human –
dominated landscapes for food and fodder and movement of human
beings to forests for illegal collection of forest produce.
Impact of human-animal conflict:-
1) Loss of life.
2) Injury to both animal and human
3) Damage of crops and agriculture land, and 4) Risk
in violence against animals.

So, one must make sure that humans not to encroach their
territory and if this happens then human-animal conflict will

18
arise. So, there is a need to aware people by awareness program
and check-balance method via scientific study, legal study and
humanitarian study.

Misc.topics: Six reasons why meat is bad for the environment:-


Meat or more specifically, “Industrial meat “is bad for the planet.
The industrial meat system requires a huge amount of land to sustain
itself. Forests, are cut down and burned every year to graze cattle and
grow enough crops to feed billions of farmed animals. This result in
deforestation. The six reasons are stated below:- 1) It causes
deforestation and forest fires.
2) It causes climate change.
3) It’s killing Wildlife.
4) It is increasing the risk of future pandemics like COVID-19.
5) The leading cause of water and air pollution, and
6) It’s an inefficient way to eat.

Inefficient way to eat:- Over a quarter of the world’s entire land area
is used to graze or grow food for farm animals. Food that could have
been eaten by people in the first place. If everyone ate a plant based
diet, we would need 75% less farmland than we use today. This
means it takes less land to grow food directly for humans than to feed
animals, which humans then eat. By eating plant based food, we could
feed more people without destroying forests.

Veganism:- Eating meat is allowed in Islam but not mandatory , and


also it is estimated that over 1000000 animals are sacrificed during
the holy celebration of Id-al-Adah . Islam stresses kindness and
compassion for all animals. In addition, the Holy Prophet Mohammad
was also thought to have been following a mainly plant based diet.
There are many health benefits of eating a plant based diet.

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Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare:- The Universal
Declaration on Animal Welfare (UDAW) is a proposed inter-
governmental agreement to recognize that animals are sentient, to
prevent cruelty and reduce suffering, and to promote standards on the
welfare of animals such as farm animals, companion animals, animals
in scientific research, draught animals, wildlife and animals in
recreation. The declaration calls for:

1. Recognition that animals are living, sentient beings and


therefore deserve due consideration and respect
2. Recognition that animal welfare includes animal health and
encompasses both the physical and psychological state of the
animal and that good practices in animal welfare can have major
benefits for humans and the environment
3. Awareness that the Five Freedoms (freedom from hunger, thirst
and malnutrition; freedom from fear and distress; freedom from
physical and thermal discomfort; freedom from pain, injury and
disease; and freedom to express normal patterns of behaviour )
4. Provide valuable guidance for the use of animals, and
5. Recognition that the provisions contained in this declaration do
not affect the rights of any state.

Conclusion:- In the light of the presented laws, cases, impact by


various studies I conclude the problem of cruelty to animals is not
new in India but it is all around the world. Animals in Indian society
have been victims of ill-treatment, mutiliation, torture and
exploitation if written records of social organization are available.
Animals are voiceless in respect to all the prerequisites essential for
access to justice hence they can’t access to justice for themselves so
they rely upon humans. The Indian penal laws are ancient and not

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effective enough in modern society i.e. IPC 428,429 and Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals Act,1960.The punishments awarded are less
and the interpretation needs to be more conclusive. Modern
investigating techniques should be adopted in crime investigation
which would be of great help in determining the cases related to
cruelty to animals. The definition of animal should be amended as
mentioned in the legal provisions.
Cruelty affects the lives of millions of animals worldwide that is the
more the violence with animals, the more the destruction to ecological
system because both correlate with each other. This will result in
global warming. The impact in terms of suffering, which it brings
upon the animals is perhaps the most severe punishment. The animals
are traumatized in such a manner that they can’t speak for themselves
but yes can express their feelings. It is not only the physical violation
of the body of an animal but an intrusion upon mental, psychological
and emotional sensitivities. When something happens to animals and
then animal activists stands for those animals to seek justice, the
whole society stands against them or they are least bothered i.e. in
other words 70% society are unaware of animal welfare rights. So, the
human society should be aware that to save our planet we all have to
maintain the ecosystem and stop killing of mass animals ( domestic or
wild ) because these animals create a food chain and food web along
with human beings.

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