‘Dog’ged by the law?

When Gowtham Sudarshan and Ashish Pal flung a dog off a terrace and videotaped and shared it, they perhaps thought the nation would laugh at their joke… but it has landed them in the doghouse instead, what with the media, pet lovers and animal activists decrying the act. Shravan Krishnan, Jennifer Jacob-Murali Anand and Antony Rubin, animal activists all three, were pretty much instrumental in getting the duo arrested (though they are out on bail now) under Section 428 and 429 of the IPC and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.But this is not enough, opine Chennaiites. The need of the hour is an amendment of The Prevention of Cruelty Act 1960, bringing into its ambit stronger laws and stringent punishments and fines. Here’s what they say…
We have little value for human life in this country. Instead of changing this, we now use this as an excuse to treat animals even worse. Worst yet, we had trolls equating eating meat to throwing a puppy off a roof. As a final nail, we have some accusing us of crying more for dogs than dying humans... people who kill or hurt animals for sport or entertainment must be stopped. The only way forward is through petitioning, which is happening. What happened also has a lot to do with the awful truth that these boys did this to get famous. The delusion that anything goes for those five seconds of fame. Scary times we live in.
— Siddharth, actor
Time to re-evaluate the law
I have heard of far more horrible things — I even read an article about a man trying to rape an injured cow. But this case got into the limelight because of the video, which I think, made all the difference as people could empathise with the dog. It ends with the dog crying, and it breaks your heart. But I am glad that at least this case is getting due importance. But it is disheartening to know that the culprits have been let off with a meagre fine, and I think it is definitely time to re-evaluate the law and make a difference.
— Gayathri, actress
Does this incident need to be given such importance?
I saw the video and I am disgusted with what the two boys did to the dog. They are not fit to be doctors and should be debarred from their college. But what I don’t understand is that there are so many people who get away with rape and murder, so should we be giving so much importance to a dog? There are events that are far worse that are happening around us, does this issue need so much attention? The Act is ancient and definitely needs to be amended, and I am in no way supporting the boys or saying what they did was right. But there are murders, bomb blasts and rapes that are killing innocent people — how about paying them equal attention?
— R Sundar, electrical engineer
High time some action is taken
I think first of all we should have an animal welfare ministry. It is high time some civil action was taken, as the moot point is that of initiating a change with regard to such acts. I have been feeling this for a long time — that the Indian Government is very unwilling to change anything, when it comes to laws regarding death, violence, discrimination against marginalized communities, etc, even where human beings are concerned. Our archaic laws have not changed much. We place the human beings on top, but we don’t respect life. We look at dogs with some utility value. Ultimately, we don’t respect the human body or the human being or living being. So, the animals come in the lower end of our understanding of life. Trees are the worst. Deforestation is not a problem at all. A dog, at least, will scream and cry. Local bodies also have to be taught how to treat a stray animal. I am telling you this wouldn’t have happened to a Great Dane pup or a Labrador. It is because it is a mongrel. So that is how we look at life.
— TM Krishna, Carnatic vocalist
The fine amounts were fixed 60 years ago
I know people are saying, it’s just a dog. But hurting another living creature for pure entertainment is sadism and that is the monstrous issue. As medical students, it is even worse because if they are sadists, imagine human lives suffering at their hands. People are always going to say many different things, but I guess we just have to pick our battles and fight for them. Also, if they’ve never owned a pet, especially known the love of man’s best friend, they forfeit the right to comment on others fighting for the beautiful souls. The way I look at it is simple - all of us don’t have to be/ are not sensitive towards the same things. Thank god for that. Coming back to this case, is sad that our system is so ancient. I think it is time we revised our laws. The fine amounts were fixed back in the
60s and those amounts are pittance now. Not just this one, all the laws have to revised.
— Nrithya Maria Andrews, musician
Include compassion in school curriculum
The first time I saw the video where the guys holding the dog by its neck and hind I thought to myself, they need to get the dog off the side walls, lest it falls off. Then, the slow motion started and the guy flings the dog off. As the dog was falling, I had a mixed feeling of helplessness and anger… Of course, the laws need to be amended. This was not an accident, but a willful intent to cause harm to an innocent animal which was posing absolutely no physical threat to anyone around him. The fact these guys are medics-to-be is appalling. When they don’t have even basic human qualities of compassion how are they going to make a patient feel comfortable? They need to be quarantined from society urgently. This was one incident which was caught on tape. I wonder how many more incidents are happening around which are not video captured and shared extensively? Maybe instead of wasting much time on algebra and differential calculus schools must include social behaviour and compassion into their curriculum. That way, we could expect and hope for better treatment of fellow citizens and needless to mention, other living beings with no necessity to put camera checks all around town.
— Satkrit Krishna, designer and dog-lover
People even get away with crimes against humans
My point of view on the whole punishment for these boys is different. Though this act has to be condemned and the boys have to be reprimanded, the reactions of people on social media saying these guys should be going behind bars for years, cancel their medical qualifications etc, is shocking. Many of these reactions, in fact, seem outrageous and downright ridiculous. In the first case, we don’t have stricter laws and timelines on human cruelty like rape! Those need to be addressed and take precedence first. Yes, this case becoming a big issue should help in the respective authorities to sit up and take notice and firm up laws on animal cruelty. Currently, people even do get away with many crimes against humans. Personally, I feel that meat is an expensive food commodity and not needed for survival. So, killing animals for ‘food delicacies’ which is not a primary need is as big a sin. When we kill an animal to eat, it is also used for our pleasure. Isn’t that cruel enough?
— Sameer Bharat Ram, entrepreneur and film producer
First, speak for the animal — speak to the offender and try to talk them out of it. If the animal is still being abused, file an FIR. You can file an FIR as a first-person witness, or with solid video or photographic proof. I must say that cops these days are quite supportive when compared to, say, what they were five years earlier, when they hesitated to file such cases. Then a chargesheet is drawn. Following that, you have to make an appearance in court, to give your testimony. A suitable punishment would be determined. If you are worried about the legal fees, many lawyers are doing some great pro bono work when it comes to cases like these and even environmental causes. Our case is an example that you don’t necessarily need organisational backing if you are going to speak out against animal cruelty.
— Jennifer Jacob, one of Bhadra’s rescuers

LEGAL EAGLES SPEAK
Animal welfare is an arena that has not been attended to. Most of our laws are stagnant and we haven’t amended them at all. In May, several parliamentarians and celebrities got together and launched a campaign, No More 50. The campaign was an attempt to tell the Government to come out with stronger animal rights laws. This campaign made a lot of noise, I think we should also go on a protest or sign a petition to get the attention of the Government. A campaign like that would definitely help.
—Meenakshi, High Court lawyer
The recent incident is appalling. But though there are many laws like the Prevention of Cruelty Act, 1960, or the Wildlife Protection Act 1972, the punishment for offenses booked under these acts are very minimal. The laws are to ensure protection of animals, but it’s very rare to see anyone lodge a complaint against such offenders — primarily because people are unaware of these laws and no one wants to put in so much effort, register a case, etc. Even though we do have laws governing the welfare of animals, they are not enforced with the same amount of force when compared to cruelty against human beings. The penalty is a joke. The first and foremost thing is to educate people and tell them that they can file a case against cruelty of an animal. If the law is amended and people begin to register cases then such incidents will not occur. It’s a whole chain of actions.
—Vidhyuta, High Court lawyer