Animal Cruelty
Kerala has an elephant spa!
Despite the existence of such places in India, more and more horrific cases of animal cruelty have been coming to the fore.
Last June, the incident of a pregnant elephant dying after eating an explosive-filled pineapple in Kerala made headlines all over the world. But that’s barely scratching the surface of it.
In March, a 30 year-old was arrested for raping a nine-month old calf at a cattle shed. The person who caught the perpetrator stated that this was not the first time such an incident had occurred and it had been occurring for over a year.
In June, a cow was fed food mixed with explosives, heavily injuring its mouth and jaw. This came days after the pregnant elephant incident came to light.
Within the same month, a kitten was set on fire with a lighter and the perpetrator posted a video of the incident onto social media. The kitten could be heard desperately meowing.
Again in the same month, a monkey was hanged to death from a tree supposedly because he was bothered by their presence in the area. As the monkey was hanged, a crowd cheered him on.
In July, a 55-year old man was arrested for raping a cow. The act was caught on CCTV.
In August, six people were arrested for the killing of a pregnant wild buffalo. 25 kgs of buffalo meat were later found at the house of one of the accused.
Making matters worse, some people set out to perform these acts to achieve their 5 minutes of fame.
Last year, a video of two minors throwing a dog in a pond after tying his legs was uploaded onto Tiktok and garnered many views. Similarly. A man uploaded a video of him hanging a cat from a fan with a rope around her neck.
From May to June 2020, the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) and conservationists nabbed around 50 people for uploading wildlife abuse videos on social media, especially on TikTok.
The government has prepared a draft that proposes a range of fines (Rs 750 to 75,000) for animal abuse, up from the existing Rs 10 to Rs 50 penalty. Killing an animal could also carry a jail term of up to five years.
Besides supporting this legislation, there is more that you can do on an individual level.
Hotline to report animal abuse: 98201 22602
Online: tinyurl.com/animalabuseindia
Donate to help abandoned animals: tinyurl.com/donatehelpanimals
Help vaccinate an animal, feed them for a month, sponsor a rescue and more. Donations start at Rs 200.
And if you’re looking to get a pet, adopt one instead of having it bred!
Bibliography
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-52918603
https://thelogicalindian.com/trending/kerala-pregnant-buffalo-killed-23166
https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/crime/200720/kitten-set-afire-in-hyderabad.html