URGENT: Help Us Strengthen India’s Animal-Protection Laws

Nearly every day, it seems we wake up to a new case of gut-wrenching cruelty to animals. Whether it’s the video of a man smiling for the camera as he throws a dog off a roof or of three puppies being burned alive in Hyderabad, the shocking incidents keep coming.In recent months, a Bengaluru woman killed eight puppies by flinging them against a boulderin order to “teach” the dogs’ mother”a lesson”; a man in New Delhi was caught on camera beating a puppy to death and stabbing three dogs, leaving them lying in a pool of blood outside a metro station; and another Delhi man swung a stray dog around by one leg before throwing the animal against a parked car.

And in one of the most high-profile cases, a police horse named Shaktimaan died after his leg was broken while he was surrounded by an angry mob during a political rally in Dehradun. Before his eventual death, Shaktimaan suffered from immense pain.

It’s despicable that anyone would get their kicks from filming themselves torturing animals. And when people abuse, maim, and kill animals without meaningful consequences, it’s also dangerous.A glaring lack of empathy and a sick desire to exert power over the helpless frequently manifest in other antisocial ways, including further violent crimes against animals and fellow humans.

But because India’s animal-protection laws are so weak, even when the culprits of horrendous cruelty are caught and arrested, they can be released with hardly a slap on the wrist. The maximum fine under The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, for beating, abandoning, abusing, or even killing an animal is a meagerRs 50 for convicted first offenders.

Never be silent when you witness animal abuse!

If you see something, say something. After the video surfaced of the man throwing a dog off a roof, outraged citizens crowdsourced information to help authorities catch those believed to be responsible, two medical students were arrested, and PETA is calling for their permanent expulsion. But current penalties are not strong enough to deter cruel people from harming animals.

Please join us in urging Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi to strengthen India’s animal-protection laws and ensure that animal abusers receive jail time and significant fines, as well as counselling and a ban on having contact with animals.