This is the introduction listed for AWBI on their website & AWBI is the main board that is responsible for animal welfare in India.
“The Animal Welfare Board of India is a statutory advisory body on Animal Welfare Laws and promotes animal welfare in the country. Established in 1962 under Section 4 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 (No. 59 of 1960), the Animal Welfare Board of India was started under the stewardship of Late Smt. Rukmini Devi Arundale, well known humanitarian. From ensuring that animal welfare laws in the country are diligently followed, to provide grants to Animal Welfare Organizations and advising the Government of India on animal welfare issues, the Board has been the face of the animal welfare movement in the country for the last 50 years.”
Daily News on Animals:
- Stray dog’s legs chopped
- Stray dog mother & puppies separated. A full litter dies out of starvation.
- Countless hit & run cases with dogs dead or paralyzed for life.
- Dogs beaten to death every day.
- Pet dogs in poor & inhumane conditions.
- Indiscriminate breeding of dogs & breeder discards
- No food, no water & no shelter in heat wave or cold wave for animals.
This is the ACTUAL PLIGHT OF ANIMALS IN INDIA as we speak.
Did you know?
AWBI is responsible for the following pertaining to animals –
- Advise government on laws that must be implemented to safeguard the lives of animals across the country.
- Implement court orders at grassroots level.
- Audit animal welfare NGOs and curb malpractices & frauds
- Monitor state animal welfare board operations & provide ensure action is taken for lapses in policy & program implementation.
- Conduct periodic assessment of the impact district SPCA’s operations vs cruelty cases received.
- Take “Suo moto cognizance” of cruelty cases or man-animal conflict issues and ensure judgements or actions taken are in line with animal welfare policies.
However, all these actions are only on paper. Reality of animal laws in India today is –
- Cruelty situation is worsening day by day across states. Conviction rate of criminals is zero percent.
- ABC implementation is zero in few states.
- Few states have no district SPCAs & the states that do have SPCAs are active only on paper. There is no crackdown or conviction on cruelty cases through SPCAs. SPCAs are not even questioning government departments & taking sou moto cognizance of failed ABC, relocations & cruelty cases in each district.
- Major % of SPCAs do not even have the complete list of members who are supposed to be “Ex-officio Members” of the committee.
- AWBI is almost non-existent in taking strong steps to curb animal cruelty.
If at all AWBI was true to what Late Smt. Rukmini Devi Arundale ji envisioned and started this organization then, the fine amount for killing animals wouldn’t be 50 RUPEES still in 2023.
Every year, after every gruesome killing of an animal, animal lovers & activists – plead, protest, demand updates to “PREVENTION OF CRUELTY AGAINST ANIMALS ACT 1960”.
However, just like Dritharashatra in Mahabharata, AWBI is blind to all the requests, petitions, glaring lapses & misses that are happening pertaining to the plight of animals & administration of animal welfare departments in our country.
- Today, at the police station level, 90% of the police personnel are not aware of animal laws & filing FIR is a circus. Police play a key role in enforcing the law & they are firing blank as AWBI has failed to sensitize them on animal laws.
- Animal caretakers are being harassed 360 degrees across the country without any discrimination.
- Caring & fighting for animals itself has become a CRIME these days.
- 63 years since the act came through & Animal laws are not updated in law books.
- No accountability or audit of SPCAs, ABC & ARV implementation happens & the data is not published publicly.
- Citizens have no idea as to what is considered as breaking of law pertaining to animals & what is considered as cruelty. There are no central & state level awareness programs. India is leading in the technology race but social media & technology utilization to increase awareness on animal lives & their importance in the eco system is abysmal.
After everything, when the FIR is finally done and the case reaches to the court, we are at the same impasse like every time, where the law is not stringent enough to give justice to the lost life of an animal.
AWBI HAS LITERALLY FAILED & IS FAILING EVERY ANIMAL IN INDIA TO WHOM THEY PROMISED SAFETY.
While these issues & inefficient operations of AWBI may seem very trivial for many officials, it is time for Central Government to wake up and take note that the society is breeding & nurturing more psychopaths by not killing the seeds of psychopathy at the roots.
A country with poor & weak animal laws puts women & children at the risk of extreme violence, normalizes pedophiles & creates more dysfunctional families. The new generation youth will have more trauma & behavioural issues that can lead to a country’s deteriorating capability to build a stable, skill based economy.
A country cannot be run with sociopaths & psychopaths who are immune to emotions, and sociocultural setup.
WE NEED EMPATHS AS THE NEW GENERATION YOUTH. Empaths are the people who are going way beyond their personal lives to save animals, environment, climate change impacts & more at grassroots level.
A country which does not respect such contributions, are destined to be doomed sooner or later.
IT IS HIGH TIME THAT MODI GOVERNMENT WAKES UP TO OUR CLARION CALL FOR REFORMS & ROLLS OUT A STRINGENT PCA ACT & ALSO HOLDS AWBI ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE PRECIOUS & INNOCENT ANIMAL LIVES LOST IN THE COUNTRY!!!
The author Sadhana Hegde, is an animal activist & founder of NGO called Sahavarthin which is working on redefining man-animal equation in the country to create a more empathetic & compassionate world for animals & birds in India. You can write to sahavarthin@gmail.com for any questions.
