Animal welfare and rights in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

regards the treatment of and laws concerning non-human animals in

. It is distinct from animal conservation in India. India is home to several religious traditions advocating non-violence and compassion towards animals, and has passed a number of animal welfare reforms since 1960. India is also one of the world's leading producers of animal products. Naresh Kadyan, Chief National Commissioner along with Mrs. Sukanya Berwal, Commissioner on Education, Scouts & Guides for Animals & Birds, introduced two legal books, related to PCA Act, 1960 in Hindi along with mobile app: Scouts & Guides for Animals & Birds, Abhishek Kadyan with Mrs. Suman Kadyan also contributed from Canada.

History

Ancient India

The

Vedas upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute th ...

, the first scriptures of

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

(originating in the second millennium BCE), teach '' ahimsa'' or nonviolence towards all living beings. In Hinduism, killing an animal is regarded as a violation of ''ahimsa'' and causes bad ''

karma Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptivel ...

'', leading many Hindus to practice vegetarianism. Hindu teachings do not require vegetarianism, however, and allow animal sacrifice in rare religious ceremonies.

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle bein ...

was founded in India in the 7th-5th century BCE, and ''ahimsa'' is its central teaching. Due to their belief in the sanctity of all life, Jains practice strict vegetarianism and many go to great lengths even to avoid harming insects.

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...

is the third major religion to emerge in India, and its teachings also include ''ahimsa''. Buddhism teaches vegetarianism (though not as strictly as Jainism), and many Buddhists practice

life release Life release is a traditional Buddhist practise of saving the lives of beings that were destined for slaughter. This practise is performed by all schools of Buddhism: Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana. Despite the influence of Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism, meat-eating was still common in ancient India. In 262 BCE, the

Mauryan The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until 1 ...

king

Ashoka Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, s ...

converted to Buddhism. For the remainder of his reign, he issued edicts informed by the Buddhist teachings of compassion for all beings. These edicts included the provision of medical treatment for animals and bans on animal sacrifice, the

castration Castration is any action, surgical, chemical, or otherwise, by which an individual loses use of the testicles: the male gonad. Surgical castration is bilateral orchiectomy (excision of both testicles), while chemical castration uses pharma ...

of roosters, and hunting of many species.

British India

Animal experimentation began in India in the 1860s when Britain began introducing new drugs to the colony. Moved by the suffering of Indian strays and draught animals,

Colesworthey Grant Colesworthey Grant (sometimes spelt Colesworthy; 25 October 1813 – 31 May 1880) was an English artist, writer and pioneer activist against cruelty to animals in India. Teaching himself art and sketching, he produced numerous portraits of many ...

founded the first Indian Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in 1861 in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

. The Indian SPCAs successfully lobbied for anti-cruelty legislation in the 1860s, which was extended to all of India in 1890–91. An obelisk was established in memory of the Colesworthey just in front of the

Writers' Building The Writers' Buildings, often shortened to just Writers, is the official secretariat building of the state government of West Bengal in Kolkata, India. The 150-meter long building covers the entire northern stretch of the iconic Lal Dighi pond a ...

. While the anti-vivisection movement grew in Britain, it failed to take hold in India. British officials and (British-led) SPCAs both opposed the introduction of the British Cruelty to Animals Act of 1876 - which established regulations on animal experimentation - to the Indian colony. The Cow Protection movement arose in the late 1800s in northern India. While the SPCAs were led by colonists and associated with Christianity, Cow Protection was a movement of native Hindus. Cow protectionists opposed the slaughter of cattle and provided sanctuaries for cows. However, cow protection was largely an expression of Hindu nationalism rather than part of a larger native Indian animal welfare movement. Cow protectionists did not, in general, oppose (and often supported) animal experimentation, and the antivivisectionist groups established in India in the late 1890s died out due to lack of interest. The Indian branches of the

Humanitarian League The Humanitarian League was a British radical advocacy group formed by Henry S. Salt and others to promote the principle that it is wrong to inflict avoidable suffering on any sentient being. It was based in London and operated between 189 ...

, an English organization which opposed vivisection and the mistreatment and killing of animals, focused on vegetarianism and cow protection while ignoring vivisection.

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

was a vegetarian and advocate of vegetarianism. In 1931 Gandhi gave a talk to the

London Vegetarian Society The Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom is a British registered charity which was established on 30 September 1847 to promote vegetarianism. History In the 19th century a number of groups in Britain actively promoted and followed mea ...

entitled ''The Moral Basis of Vegetarianism'' in which he argued for abstinence from meat and dairy on ethical (rather than health-related) grounds.

Post-independence India

India's first national animal welfare law, the

Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted in 1960 to prevent the infliction of unnecessary pain or suffering on animals and to amend the laws relating to the prevention of cruelty to animals. T ...

(1960), criminalizes cruelty to animals, though exceptions are made for the treatment of animals used for food and scientific experiments. The 1960 law also created the

Animal Welfare Board of India The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), headquartered at Ballabhgarh in Haryana state, is a statutory advisory body advising the Government of India's Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying(Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairy ...

to ensure the anti-cruelty provisions were enforced and promote the cause of animal welfare. Subsequent laws have placed regulations and restrictions on the use of draught animals, the use of performing animals, animal transport, animal slaughter, and animal experimentation. The Breeding of and Experiments on Animals (Control and Supervision) Rules, 1998 sets general requirements for breeding and using animals for research. A 2006 amendment specifies that experimenters must first try to use animals "lowest on the phylogenetic scale", use the minimum number of animals for 95% statistical confidence, and justify not using non-animal alternatives. A 2013 amendment bans the use of live animal experiments in medical education. In 2014 India became the first country in Asia to ban all testing of cosmetics on animals and the import of cosmetics tested on animals. In 2013 India made it illegal to use captive dolphins for public entertainment. India has a grade of C out of possible grades A,B,C,D,E,F,G on World Animal Protection's Animal Protection Index. There are a number of

animal welfare organizations Animal welfare organizations are concerned with the health, safety and psychological wellness of individual animals. These organizations include animal rescue groups and wildlife rehabilitation centers, which care for animals in distress and sanc ...

operating in India.

Animals used for food

Legislation

The 1960

is the legal basis of animal protection in India. Provision 11 states that it is illegal for 'any person... o treatany animal so as to subject it to unnecessary pain or suffering or causes, or being the owner permits, any animal to be so treated', and that such mistreatment is punishable with fines or prison sentences. However, Kyodo News has reported that the maximum punishments are either a fine of 70 US cents, 3 months imprisonment or both, which is not enough to discourage animal cruelty. The law also states that the punishments do not apply 'to the preparation for destruction of any animal as food for mankind unless such destruction or preparation was accompanied by the infliction of unnecessary pain or suffering'. Moreover, provision 28 states 'Nothing contained in this Act shall render it an offence to kill any animal in a manner required by the religion of any community.' theoretically leaving open the option of unstunned

ritual slaughter Ritual slaughter is the practice of slaughtering livestock for meat in the context of a ritual. Ritual slaughter involves a prescribed practice of slaughtering an animal for food production purposes. Ritual slaughter as a mandatory practice of sla ...

. On the other hand, stunning is required for animal slaughterhouses according to provision 6 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Slaughter House) Rules, 2001, and provision 3 states that slaughter is only permitted in recognised or licensed slaughterhouses. The Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulation, 2011 provides more precise stipulations surrounding the welfare of animals during the slaughter process, including that 'Animals are slaughtered by being first stunned and then exsanguinated (bled out). (...) Stunning before slaughter should be mandatory.' (pdf) It further stipulates which three methods are legal ( asphyxiation, mechanical concussion (gunshot or

captive bolt pistol A captive bolt (also variously known as a cattle gun, stunbolt gun, bolt gun, or stunner) is a device used for stunning animals prior to slaughter. The goal of captive bolt stunning is to inflict a forceful strike on the forehead with the bo ...

), and

electronarcosis Electronarcosis, also called electric stunning or electrostunning, is a profound stupor produced by passing an electric current through the brain. Electronarcosis may be used as a form of electrotherapy in treating certain mental illnesses in hu ...

), the conditions in which these should be performed (such as separate spaces out of sight of other animals, with the proper equipment and the requirement that 'all operators involved are well trained and have a positive attitude towards the welfare of animals'), and explains why these are conducive to animal welfare. The regulation does not mention any exceptions or exemptions for religious or ritual slaughter. In India, it is legal to confine calves in

veal crates Veal is the meat of calves, in contrast to the beef from older cattle. Veal can be produced from a calf of either sex and any breed, however most veal comes from young male calves of dairy breeds which are not used for breeding. Generally, v ...

, pigs in

gestation crate A gestation crate, also known as a sow stall, is a metal enclosure in which a farmed sow used for breeding may be kept during pregnancy.Wilson G. Pond, Fuller W. Bazer, Bernard E. Rollin (eds.), ''Animal Welfare in Animal Agriculture'', CRC Press ...

s, hens in

battery cage Battery cages are a housing system used for various animal production methods, but primarily for egg-laying hens. The name arises from the arrangement of rows and columns of identical cages connected together, in a unit, as in an artillery batt ...

s, and to remove farm animals' body parts without anesthesia.

Practice

According to ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...

'' in 2012, most abbatoirs in India employed

at 70

volt The volt (symbol: V) is the unit of electric potential, electric potential difference (voltage), and electromotive force in the International System of Units (SI). It is named after the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta (1745–1827). Defin ...

s to render animals unconscious before slaughter. For unstunned

, scientific, religious and popular opinion remains divided on the question whether the

dhabihah In Islamic law, ' ( ar, ذَبِيحَة; '; ), also spelled zabiha, is the prescribed method of slaughter for halal animals (This does not include fishes, which are exempt from this requirement). It consists of a swift, deep incision to the throa ...

method (generally preferred by Muslims) or the

jhatka Jhatka, or Jhataka or chatka (' ), is the meat from an animal killed instantly, such as by a single strike of a sword or axe to sever the head within the Sikh religion. This type of slaughter is preferred by most Rajput in Hinduism Sikhs as well ...

method (generally Animal sacrifice preferred by Hindus and Sikhs) leads to less pain and stress and a quicker death for the animal in question. Indian Muslim scholars also disagree whether meat from animals that are stunned prior to ritual slaughter is to be considered

halal ''Halal'' (; ar, حلال, ) is an Arabic word that translates to "permissible" in English. In the Quran, the word ''halal'' is contrasted with '' haram'' (forbidden). This binary opposition was elaborated into a more complex classification k ...

, with some saying it is, and others saying it is not. A major problem in India is that there is an insufficient number of legal slaughterhouses to meet consumer demand, and the federal and state governments sometimes appear unable to provide or stimulate the establishment of abbatoirs that are in compliance with the law, and unable to shut down the illegal abbatoirs. For example, as of February 2020, the state of

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

(10 million inhabitants) had no legal slaughterhouses at all. Animal Equality studied 5 chicken farms and 3 markets all in Maharashtra,

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

, and

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land a ...

on 2017 and reported that stunning to render the birds unconscious was not practised in any of the locations. The chickens would be thrown into drain bins after having their throat slit, where they would reportedly take several minutes to die. Although dog meat is outlawed in India, the trade is still carried out in some Northeastern states, particularly

Mizoram Mizoram () is a state in Northeast India, with Aizawl as its seat of government and capital city. The name of the state is derived from "Mizo", the self-described name of the native inhabitants, and "Ram", which in the Mizo language means "lan ...

Nagaland Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...

, and

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of ...

, as the meat is considered by some to have high nutritional and medicinal value. Indian animal activists and others have launched a campaign to end the trade in

, which sees more than 30,000 stray and stolen dogs reportedly beaten to death with clubs each year.

Cattle

The focus of animal welfare and rights debates in India has been on the treatment of

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

, since cows, unlike other animals, are considered to have a certain sacred status according to the majority of millions of Hindus (79.8%), Sikhs (1.7%), Buddhists (0.7%) and Jains (0.4%) living in India. However, cattle are generally not considered to be 'sacred' by others, such as followers of Abrahamic religions including Muslims (14.2%) and Christians (2.3%), as well as non-religious people (0.3%). Moreover, there is widespread disagreement among followers of Indian religions themselves on the level of protection and care that should be afforded to cows. In the post-independence era, a legal situation has evolved in which a number of states, mostly bordering on or relatively close to

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

, have completely banned all slaughter of cows, bullocks and bulls, while most in north, central and south India have only prohibited slaughtering bullocks and bulls, and finally some states far away from Pakistan (Kerala, West Bengal and the Northeast Indian states) have not enacted such restrictions on the slaughter of these animals at all. As far back as the 19th century, the legal prohibition of cattle slaughter has been part of Hindu nationalist agendas, and cow protection has been used as a means to distinguish Muslim and Hindu behaviour and identities.

Sale and consumption

Despite restrictions on killing and eating cows throughout most of the country, India became the world's largest exporter of beef in 2012. According to a 2012 FAO report, India also had the world's largest population of dairy cows (43.6 million) and was the second-largest producer of milk (50.3 million tons per year). In 2011, India was the third largest producer of eggs (behind China and the United States) and the sixth largest producer of chicken meat. India is the second largest fish producer in the world after China, and the industry has substantial room for growth. A 2007 report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

found that Indians had the lowest rate of meat consumption of any country. Roughly one-third of Indians are vegetarian (the largest percentage of vegetarians in the world), but few are

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

. Despite having the highest rate of vegetarianism in the world, Indian consumption of dairy, eggs, and meat - especially

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adu ...

- was increasing rapidly as of 2013.

Animals used for clothing

Fur

In 2012, Indian consumers purchased approximately Rs8.6 billion (approximately 129 million U.S. dollars) worth of fur products; this figure is projected to grow to Rs13 billion (approximately 195 million U.S. dollars) by 2018. Most of these products are supplied by domestic producers. Due to growing concern for animal welfare, in 2017 India banned the importation of certain animal furs and skins, including chinchilla, mink, fox, and reptiles.

Leather

Although cattle slaughter is illegal in all but two Indian states, poor enforcement of cattle protection laws has allowed a thriving leather industry. A 2014 report on the Indian leather industry states that India is the ninth largest exporter of leather and leather products, and the second largest producer of footwear and leather garments, with significant room for growth. The Indian government supports the industry by allowing 100% foreign direct investment and duty-free imports, funding manufacturing units, and implementing industrial development programs.

Animals used in scientific research and cosmetics tests

India's 1960 anti-cruelty law created the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA) to regulate animal experimentation. A 2003 report by

Animal Defenders International Animal Defenders International (ADI), founded 1990, has offices in US, UK, Colombia, Peru and South Africa; education and public awareness campaigns to protect animals in captivity and wild animals and their environments. ADI 's campaigns focus on ...

and the U.K. National Anti-Vivisection Society based on evidence gathered by the CPCSEA during inspections of 467 Indian laboratories finds "a deplorable standard of animal care in the majority of facilities inspected". The report lists many instances of abuse, neglect, and failure to use available non-animal methods.

Animals used in religion and entertainment

The Islamic festival of Eid Al Adha marks a global slaughter of animals every year. In recent times PETA has made appeals to muslims to do away with animal slaughter, however Islamist clerics in India have insisted that there is no alternative to animal slaughter and that it must take place. In 2014, the Supreme Court of India banned the traditional bullfighting sport

Jallikattu (or ), also known as and , is a traditional event in which a bull (''Bos indicus''), such as the Pulikulam or Kangayam breeds, is released into a crowd of people, and multiple human participants attempt to grab the large hump on the bull's ba ...

, which was mainly practiced in the state of Tamil Nadu. This led to widespread controversy, and the

2017 pro-jallikattu protests The 2017 pro-jallikattu protests, also known as the pro-jallikattu movement, were leaderless apolitical youth protests which took place in January 2017 in large groups in several locations across the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Some sporadic smal ...

. Under this pressure, the government of Tamil Nadu adopted a law that reintroduced the sport on state level, likely leading to a renewed ban by the Supreme Court. The sport remains a controversial issue.

Strays

With 30 million stray dogs in India estimated in 2015, conflicts have arisen in regions such as Bengaluru and

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

on dealing with dog bites and the threat of rabies. Incidents of stray dogs chasing, attacking and biting school children, aged persons, pedestrians, morning walkers, or two-wheeler riders have led to panic and violent action from a handful of locals. Naresh Kadyan, Master Trainer of the

said in 2017 that cases of dogs being bludgeoned with iron bars or burnt alive had taken place almost every month. Due to the collapse of vulture populations in India, which formerly consumed large quantities of dead animal carcasses, the urban

street dog Street dogs, known in scientific literature as free-ranging urban dogs, are unconfined dogs that live in cities. They live virtually everywhere where cities exist and the local human population allows, especially in the developing world and the ...

population has increased and become a problem, especially in urban areas.

Cow

India has over 5 million stray cattle according to the livestock census data released in January 2020. While stray cattle are a nuisance to traffic in urban areas, the problem of solid waste pollution, especially

plastic pollution Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic objects and particles (e.g. plastic bottles, bags and microbeads) in the Earth's environment that adversely affects humans, wildlife and their habitat. Plastics that act as pollutants are catego ...

and garbage dumped at public places, poses risk to stray cattle which feed on garbage. The deadly attacks by the stray cow on humans and crops in both the urban and rural areas is an issue for the residents. In 2017, after coming to power, Yogi Adityanath government had promised to build cattle shelters to better manage the stray cattle. Since BJP came to power in 2017,

Cow slaughter Due to the multiple benefits from cattle, there are varying beliefs about cattle in societies and religions. In some regions, especially most states of India, the slaughter of cattle is prohibited and their meat may be taboo. Cattle are consider ...

has been made illegal in 18 states in India including UP, this was done in accordance with the right wing Hindu agenda. Since then the trading of male cattle has reduced due to the fear of arrest, persecution, lynching by cow vigilantes. The farmers unable to sell them, abandon them to wander on the roads and feed on standing crops.

References

External links

* {{Animal welfare by country