FIR Registered Against 3 Men for Buffalo Fighting Following Complaint by PETA India

After receiving a complaint from PETA India, Thane rural police registered a first information report (FIR) against three men and other unknown persons for inciting two buffaloes to fight each other. In our complaint to the police, we also submitted a video of the event, which took place on 12 December 2021, containing evidence of violation of laws and cruelty to animals. The video shows buffaloes with their horns locked and bleeding while young people cheer. In a bid to incite the animals, some participants are seen twisting and pulling the animals’ tails.

#Bullfighting: Their horns are locked, bleeding but scores of youth – arching their backs – are seen cheering for their respective animals. In a bid to incite animals to make the bullfight more aggressive, the youth also twist and pull their tails. #PETA #Bhiwandi #Raja #King pic.twitter.com/5zaN2vQkKx

— Diwakar Sharma (@DiwakarSharmaa) January 8, 2022

The FIR was registered at the Padgha Police Station under sections 3 and 11(1)(a), (m)(ii), and (n) of The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960, for inciting animals to fight, organising a prohibited event, and causing unnecessary pain and suffering to animals. The FIR also includes sections 34, 289, and 337 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

The PCA Act prohibits inciting animals to fight with each other. In a landmark judgment in 2014, the Supreme Court of India ruled in favour of the petitioners – PETA India and the government advisory body the Animal Welfare Board of India – making it clear that bullfighting, dogfighting, and any other staged fights for entertainment between animals, including between humans and animals, must end.

Research in psychology and criminology shows that people who commit acts of cruelty to animals often don’t stop there – many of them move on to harm humans. For example, serial killer Veerappan was a poacher, and the infamous Noida serial murders of children took place at the home of Moninder Singh Pandher, who was fond of hunting. In a study, 60% of families experiencing child abuse and neglect also had companion animals who were abused.