#NoMore50 campaign by Indian celebs want #RespectForAnimals

The state of Animal Protection Laws in India continues to be dismal. The very right of #selfrespect of animals on Indian streets is violated a million times over in our country, everyday and those who are caught, get away with just Rs.50.   Who decides how much a life is worth? Fifty six long years have passed but Rupees 10 still seems like to some as an adequate means of reprimanding an offender for animal cruelty. Paying Rupees 50 is as harsh as it can get, thrash a stray or a pet and you can get away from raking over the coals by perhaps offering to pay peanuts, and literally.
We highlighted the issue in our earlier blog and our reader feedback affirms our view. (Read full blog HERE)

The current Prevention of Animal Cruelty Act (PCA) is nothing more than a hollow promise to the defenseless animals, the fault lies in its blasé structure that does little to correct abusers or teach them a real lesson. A first time offence involves a fine somewhere between Rupees 10 to 50. A repeat offence entails a fine amounting to a paltry rupees 25.

Further prison term for harming/killing animals has been clearly stated in sections 428 and 429 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), punishment for poisoning/maiming animals valued at Rupees 10 or more is a jail term of upto 2 years, for the animals (such as horses, camels and cattle) valued at rupees 50 or more the guilty party may be imprisoned for five years.

Assistant secretary of Mumbai SPCA- SB Kadam though has a different story to tell; his career spanning over 14 years or so has been a witness to several animal cruelty cases in the courts of Mumbai, but only seen a single case where the perpetrator was given a jail-term and that too the sentence was as little as 3 days.

SPCA Mumbai has designated a team to attend court procedures pertaining to cases involving brutality towards strays/pets, the cases could be as many as 300 in a month. However the observations are quite shattering as the criminals are set free with just paying a minimum fine that has nil affect on them.

A fine of Rupees 10, Rupees 50, shamefully an insignificant amount in today’s time with inflation levels soaring for almost any and everything!

This brings us back to the question of who decides the worth of an animal’s life. Or can we really even attach a price tag to a mute-modest creature’s existence. Human beings as a race may be superior but that does not lead us to become dictators of a life as pristine as intended by nature. Superiority must by all means ramify into a humanitarianly conscious mind and soul where we humans are the caregivers and perform fairly the task of a provider to the animals.

The Humane Society International/India (HSI) and People for Animals recently launched an online movement popular as the #NOMORE50 campaign. The Nouvelle Vague needless to say demands stricter punishments for acts of cruelty towards animals. It’s a call to action, urging law makers/government to amend the existing PCA act, 1960. It aims to gather support from animal activists & lovers, celebrities and parliamentarians, crusading against animal abuse and feeble laws for the same.

Jayasimha the Managing Director of HSI has brought to light an important fact governing court hearings involving cases of animal cruelty where 90 percent of the people charged with the crime are declared guilty but get away by paying a petty 50. Jayasimha is of the opinion that a minimum fine of Rs 2000 and a maximum of 10,000 Rupees would match up the present value of rupees in terms of inflation.

Shelling out Rs 5O will not pinch most of the Indian Population. Therefore harsher fines will make more sense, as the current scenario with regard to animal welfare and protection laws is more of a joke than a penalty with real substance guaranteeing real retribution.

Geeta Seshamani co-founder of Frendicoes an animal welfare foundation in Delhi advocates a penalty as hefty as possible. Gruesome stories of caretakers shunning their pets or evading for days a starving pet tied in a corner of the house are enough to shake outdated laws, now deemed meaningless.

In a heart-warming attempt to help animals, Member of Parliament from North Mumbai Poonam Mahajan has introduced a Private member’s Bill in the parliament for bringing an amendment in the existing PCA act (however such a bill does not represent the government’s collective consideration).

Parliamentarians such as Varun Gandhi, Menakshi Lekhi, and Raghav Lakhanpal, famous personalities such as Usha Uthup, Sudesh Bhosle, Tara Sharma and Anup Jalota have extended active support and participation to the #NoMore50 campaign battling for stringent penalization for animal abuse.

The director of Strategic partnerships for HSI Mr. Harish Iyer is overwhelmed by the momentum the movement has gained so far via tremendous encouragement received by people of all sorts of social and political groups, hoping for a brighter and promising habitat for animals.

Article Resource Box:

http://scroll.in/article/808148/nomore50-why-animal-lovers-are-rising-to-demand-harsher-punishments-for-cruelty-to-animals\

http://www.hsi.org/world/india/news/releases/2016/05/nomore50-campaign-launch-increase-animal-cruelty-penalties-051216.html?referrer=https://www.google.co.in/