As responsible human beings, it is our duty to care for our environment, including treating the animals around us in a humane manner.
This guiding principle is set out in the Constitution of India,
It shall be duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures
Article 51-A(g)
The Constitution further states
The State shall endeavor to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country.
Article 48-A
In the light of this guiding principle, the Parliment of India, the Supreme Court and various High Courts have passed a range of laws to protect stray animals from cruelty, and also safeguarding the rights of those citizens who care for them.
Section 11 of the PCA Act makes all animal cruelty a criminal offense. Convicted offendors may be fined or imprisoned or both.
Sections 428 and 429 of the IPC provides severe punishment (up to 5 years imprisonment) to people resorting to dislocation, abduction and acts of cruelty towards community animals or pets.
The Animal Welfare Board of India issued a notification dealing with cruelty to stray animals. The order states that "if any Govt. servant in act of cruelty to animals he will be making himself liable for action under Preventation of Cruelty to Animals Act. Besides punishment under the Act, he would also make himself liable to action under CCS (Conduct) Rules for conduct unbecoming of a Govt. servant.
The EPA and the WPA protects stray dogs against any kind of cruelty.
Feeding stray dogs renders them friendly and docile. They learn to associate humans with food and hence are much less likely to be aggressive towards humans. It also becomes much easier to catch them for neutering and vaccination and hence further reduces risk towards humans. However, please take care to ensure the feeding is done in proper places. Strays should especially not be fed in or around human feeding areas, such as hostel mess or canteens.
Under section 506 of the Indian Penal Code, it is a crime to threaten, abuse or harass neighbors who feed animals. Ministry of Public Grievances notification and a similar notification by Animal Welfare Board of India dated March 2008, provide immunity to animal feeders and restrict government employees or bodies such as Resident Welfare Associations from harassing people who try to feed or help animals.The High Court of Delhi in 2009 and 2010 passed an order asking the police to provide protection to dogs and dog feeders and has made it a punishable offence in case anyone restricts, prohibits or causes inconvenience to any person feeding a street dog or resorts to removal dislocation or killing of a dog.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends systematic sterilization, vaccination and community level adoption of dogs for effectively reducing the stray dog population and eliminating the risk of rabies. Neutering also helps reduce aggression and territorial behaviour in dogs. Relocating stray dogs is prohibited under Indian laws. Dogs picked for sterilization must be released back in the same area where they were picked up from. They also prevent other un-sterilised dogs from entering the area, keeping the dog popuation in check.
The Animal Birth Control (Dog) Rules (2001) and the Stray Dog Management Rules (2001), enacted under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, state that sterilisation and vaccination are the only legal means for reducing and controling the stray dog population. They also strictly prohibit relocation of stray dogs. The Honourable Supreme Court of India passed an order in 2009 upholding the law and preventing disloation or culling of stray dogs anywhere in India.
