FIR Registered for Sacrifice of Goat Following PETA India Complaint

After learning that a group of young men allegedly sacrificed a goat to celebrate the release of actor Pawan Kalyan’s movie Bheemla Nayak, PETA India worked with senior Chittoor police officials to register a first information report (FIR). The goat was sacrificed at CSN movie theatre, Pileru, Bodumalluvaripalle, Chittoor. The cruel incident was caught on video, which shows people posing for photos and videos while standing in front of the frightened goat. The footage then shows the goat, fully conscious, being beheaded with a sword and the slaughter taking place in full public view. The video also shows a man collecting the blood of the sacrificed goat with his bare hands and smearing it on the movie poster.

#PawanaKalyan fans sacrificed a goat for #Bheemalanayak in #AndhraPradesh. This is not the first time when @PawanKalyan fans sacrificed goats for his movies. Earlier, fans did the same for #VakeelSaab #GabbarSingh & #Puli#BheemlaNayakEuphoria #POWERSTAR #BheemlaNayakDay pic.twitter.com/tbwLl2g4vR

— Sudhakar Udumula (@sudhakarudumula) February 26, 2022

The FIR was registered under Section 6 of the Andhra Pradesh Animals and Birds Sacrifice Prohibition Act, 1950; Sections 34 and 429 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860; Section 25(1)(A) of the Arms Act, 1959; and Section 11(1)(a) of The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960.

In its complaint, PETA India pointed out that Section 5(b) of the Andhra Pradesh Animals and Birds Sacrifices Prohibition Act, 1950, clearly states that no person shall knowingly allow any sacrifice to be performed at any place that is in their possession or under their control. Section 4 prohibits anyone from officiating, performing, serving, assisting, or participating in sacrificing an animal in any congregation. Section 6 prescribes the penalties, and Section 8 makes all offences under the Act cognisable.

Through orders on two matters regarding the sacrifice and killing of animals for meat, the Supreme Court has ruled that animals can be slaughtered only in officially licensed slaughterhouses and that municipal authorities must ensure compliance with this ruling. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Slaughter House) Rules, 2001, and the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011, permit the slaughter of animals for food only in licensed slaughterhouses equipped with species-specific stunning equipment.

The Gujarat, Kerala, Puducherry, and Rajasthan governments already have laws in place prohibiting the religious sacrifice of any animal in any temple or its precinct. The governments of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana prohibit it in any place of public religious worship or adoration or its precinct or in any congregation or procession connected with religious worship on a public street.