A teenager has been detained here for violently spinning a cat stuffed in a sack under serious offences of against animals and a human baby.
An FIR has been registered against the boy by the Kotwali Dehat police station under Sections 3 and 11 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960, on August 29.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India intervened in the matter after discovering several other videos of animal abuse on the social media account of the accused, including the ones that showed him abusing a black kite and a king cobra. Both species are protected under Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act (WPA), 1972.
Another video posted on the teen’s Instagram account showed an individual inappropriately touching an infant.
The PETA India shot off a letter to the senior superintendent of police and divisional forest officer of Bulandshahr and met with the circle officer for Bulandshahr city requesting for additional relevant stringent sections to be included in the FIR such as Section 67B of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000, and Sections 13 and 14 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.
A preliminary report was also registered under Sections 9, 39(3), and 51 of the WPA for offences related to wildlife abuse by the Bulandshahr Forest Division of the UP Forest Department. Since the accused is a juvenile, he was presented before the Juvenile Justice Board after being taken into custody. The board sent him to an observation home.
Section 67B of the IT Act, 2000 penalises the publishing of material depicting children in sexually explicit acts in electronic form. Violations under this section can result in imprisonment of up to five years and/or a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh. Sections 13 and 14 of the POCSO Act, 2012, penalises the use of children for pornographic purposes, which is punishable by imprisonment for a minimum of five years, along with a fine. Section 9 of the WPA prohibits the hunting of protected wild animals.
“Hunting” has been defined as capturing, coursing, trapping, or even attempting to do so. Hunting a Schedule I species is punishable under Section 51 of the WPA with a jail term of at least three years, but which may be extended to seven years, and a fine of at least Rs 25,000.
“Those who abuse animals often also harm humans. The abuse of animals must be treated with the utmost seriousness for a safer society for all,” says PETA India Cruelty Response Coordinator Sunayana Basu said here in axstatement on Monday.
“We appreciate the efforts of Bulandshahr Senior Superintendent of Police Shlok Kumar, Circle Officer – City Vikas Chauhan; Chief Conservator of Forests, Meerut, Ramesh Chandra and Divisional Forest Officer, Bulandshahr, Vineeta Singh, for sending a clear message that cruelty to animals will not be tolerated.”
A study published in Forensic Research & Criminology International Journal stated, “Those who engage in animal cruelty were three times more likely to commit other crimes, including murder, rape, robbery, assault, harassment, threats, and drug/substance abuse.”