Law for Animals Category

Check-list before banning cow slaughter: Improve milk revenues, provide sufficient grazing lands and fodder, structure the dairy industry horizontally, ensure healthy upkeep at cows end of life.  The return of the cow slaughter debate has so many unanswered questions, that as an amateur recent farmer (comparatively affluent) am not sure if the pros outweigh the cons or are we (speaking on behalf of a regular livestock farmer) being dragged into a political battle again. Let me elucidate, with rains getting more and more erratic, chemical contaminated lands demanding more andRead More

The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) on 25 May 2017 issued a series of notifications under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. It is now mandatory for all dog breeders and their kennels/ establishments to register themselves with the Animal Welfare Board of the respective state. For Dogs: The Dog Breeding and Marketing Rules define the requirements to be met by the breeders and the establishments used for breeding, such as those related to health, housing facilities and conditions for sale. Dog Breeding and Marketing Rules 2017Read More

The Supreme Court of India pronounced a landmark judgment in the matter titled “Animal Welfare Board of India Versus A. Nagaraja & Ors.”, and allied appeals and petitions, on the 7th of May, 2014. The use of bulls and bullocks in performances such as Jallikattu, bullock cart racing, etc., was banned. In articles that will follow, we shall focus on the judgment itself, and how those of us that wish to, can use it as powerful precedent to help animals. Through this article we’re releasing, with permission, a part ofRead More

There has been a battle raging for many years (see bottom of this article for previous VoSD articles) between the horribly abused Jallikattu bulls and the bullocks used for cart racing, and those that were using them ostensibly for “sport” and to “perpetuate tradition” & “showcase rich cultural heritage”. Finally the bulls and the bullocks have won!   In a landmark, historic judgment passed at 10.30 a.m. today (7th May), in petitions and appeals pending before it since the year 2007 and onwards, a bench of the Apex Court ofRead More

Pictures from an illegal slaughter house at Pithapuram, East Godavari district, Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh These are pictures of two illegal slaughter houses at East Godavari district, Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh ; and the third set, is of cows that were being illegally transported for slaughter, also in Andhra Pradesh a few days back, but were mercifully intercepted and seized through the intervention of a very pro-active animal welfare organisation called Animal Rescue Organisation. They are presently in the safe custody of SPCA Kakinada. These pictures are symptomatic of what is happening all over the country. ThereRead More

India is the land of the ‘Holy Cow’, and cow slaughter is strictly forbidden by law across India, except in the states of  West Bengal & Kerala. All other states have enacted prevention of cow slaughter statutes (*see legislation enacted by the States / Union Territories on cow slaughter).  In Uttar Pradesh, where the incident that we’re writing about occurred, there is The Uttar Pradesh Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act, 1955, for instance. The unsavory paradox however is, that India is also well on its way to becoming the largest beef exporter in the worldRead More

Thiru Sadai Duraisamy Hon’ble Mayor Corporation of Chennai We write to you regarding an issue that is causing deep concern to us, and many others like us.  We read the following news in The Hindu about your decision to make dog pounds in Chennai with great consternation. We also have an update from concerned Chennai citizens who met you following this article confirming the aforesaid decision. We’ve have read through the news article carefully and are deeply concerned because not only is your plan obviously unlawful, it is also ill-conceived,Read More

Shimla has an interesting history with dogs – the Municipal Corp created a dog pound to remove the dogs from the streets. The deplorable conditions of this pound were covered in an expose here and with a revisit here. The accompanying picture is from the same pound. Sometimes the Corporation and the local AWBI legal reps are in such hurry to just be in court that they fail to present clear facts to the court – that’s happened in Bangalore, and that happened in Shimla. Like in Bangalore it led the ShimlaRead More

Each time there is an animal cruelty case, petitions or demands of actions are made to the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI).  AWBI is a bureaucracy within an bureaucracy (Ministry of Environment and Forests) AND subservient to it – that can’t be a recipe of pro-activeness!  Ms Menaka Gandhi is the next best stop for action – but Ms Gandhi works on a range of issues that are brought to her notice the best she can and surely she can’t be the default for all action. So is the fate of India’sRead More

The Supreme Court of India on 6 Feb, 2013, stayed the order passed by the Karnataka High Court on the 7th of December, 2012. The Karnataka High Court had directed the BBMP to cull dogs which are a ‘menace’ or ‘cause nuisance’, has been stayed by the Supreme Court of India. The Supreme Court stay order has been passed a short while ago, in a Special Leave Petition filed by the Animal Welfare Board of India numbered as S.L.P. (C) No. 4453 of 2013, and titled ‘Animal Welfare Board ofRead More