Know Your Animal Protection Laws
Did you know that no residential community in India can ban you from having pets at home? Our founder, Megha, didn’t either and when she learnt of this six years ago, she brought home her forever furmate Benjamin Jose, and the rest is history.
If you’re a pet parent or an animal care-giver in India, chances are that you have either felt unwelcome with your pet in public places and communities or have been threatened for caring for them at least once. It is no secret that very few people in the Indian society are genial towards animals, leave alone strays. While animal protection laws aren’t very stringent in this country, being aware of the laws that exist to protect you and your furry friend can prove extremely beneficial while dealing with meddlers and also enable you to make informed decisions. So let’s start with the simplest yet most important one that very few are aware of.
Banning Pets in Apartment Communities
No resident’s welfare association can oust you or your pet from your home, period. According to Section 11 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, banning pets or certain breeds of pets from apartment complexes is not allowed, irrespective of what the consensus is. They also cannot prohibit your pet from using common areas such as elevators or parks. It is, however, rightly expected that you pick up after your pet and train them so as to not be disruptive in such places. That said, if you don’t have a dog at home just because of the people around, rejoice, for you have nothing holding you back anymore.
Feeding Strays
There is no law that forbids anybody from caring for and feeding stray animals in India and in fact, the Constitution of India 1960 makes it the duty of every citizen to protect and safeguard our environment and have compassion for all living creatures. Harassing or threatening people who care for community dogs amounts to criminal intimidation and is a punishable offense. So venture out bravely and feed your neighbourhood cuties all you want. Please note that it would be a lot easier for you, your community dogs as well as members of the community if you can feed the dogs a little away from your own home or apartment in order to ensure the dogs don’t become protective of your house and retaliate when guests come home. Always remember, small things go a long way.
Relocation of Dogs
As per the Animal Birth Control Rules 2001 (ABC rules), relocation of dogs is prohibited under any circumstances. Like humans have a home, a dog’s street or area is his or her home and relocating them is very insensitive and could even result in the death of the poor animal through fights with neighbouring packs. A community may approach their local animal welfare organization to help sterilize the dogs that are at least 6 months of age, as sterilization reduces their aggressive behaviour but it has to be ensured that the dogs are returned to their original streets once the surgery and recovery are complete.
Abandonment
Although we cannot fathom how anybody would have the heart to abandon a loved member of their family, we sadly get a lot of calls asking to rescue abandoned dogs wandering aimlessly, scared and distressed. This is not just inhumane, but also punishable by law according to Section 11 (i) of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. If you notice anybody abandoning their pets in a pitiable condition, reach out to your local animal welfare association immediately to log the incident and raise a police complaint.
Negligence of Care
A pet parent is responsible for all the care his or her dog needs. Failure to provide sufficient food, water, shelter or medication, tethering the poor animal throughout the day or housing them in cages too small for them with no room to move is frowned upon and is a punishable offense. We request you to report any such cases that you come across, so that mitigative action may be taken.
Animal Abuse
Every animal has his or her right to life and humans are in no way allowed to jeopardise their health and safety, pet parents or not. Killing, poisoning, mutilating or torturing any animal, including strays is a serious offense under Section 428 and 429 of the Indian Penal Code and is punishable with upto 2 years of imprisonment or fine or both. No entity in the government has the authority to euthanize stray dogs just because they seem to be a menace to some of the residents.
Dogs are sentient beings without a voice to communicate easily with us and it becomes each of our responsibility to protect them to the best of our abilities. While the fines that are levied for offenses against animals are abysmal and it has been over six decades, there is hope that our animal protection laws would soon be reviewed. Being aware of these laws can arm you with enough confidence to call out and not feel threatened by those who stand in the way of people caring for strays or their own pets. Now that you know your animal laws, all of us at The Pawsome People Project would also like to remind you that we are just a call away, in case you need help confronting people who refuse to acknowledge and abide by the above laws. Together we can ensure that furry love prevails.