Cases Of Cruelty To Animals Must Be Decided With Great Sensitivity: Court

Cases of cruelty to animals in any form should be decided with great sensitivity, as animals cannot speak and demand their rights, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court said while hearing petitions of cattle owners.

Justice G A Sanap made the observations on June 6 while hearing petitions of some persons seeking custody of 49 cattle seized by the police under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.

As per the details, the animals had been seized by the police while they were being transported in trucks in an inhuman manner. The petitioners sought custody claiming that they had licences for sale and purchase of the seized animals.

They had approached the high court after the lower court in Nagpur rejected their plea.

The high court noted that in the concerned case, majority of the animals were milching buffaloes and were cramped in vehicles, which were not fitted with padding etc.

Apart from this, there was no provision of water and fodder as stipulated in the rules, and the cattle were transported in very cruel conditions, it observed.

"Animals have emotions, feelings and senses similar to a human being. The only difference is that the animals cannot speak and therefore, though their rights are recognised under the law, they cannot assert the same. The rights of animals have to be taken care of by the concerned in accordance with law," the court said.

It further noted that cases of cruelty to animals in any form have to be approached and decided with great sensitivity.

Justice Sanap relied on a Supreme Court order, which stated that in cases involving allegations of cruelty to the animals, it was not proper to handover the custody to owners of the animal.

The court directed a gaushala to take over the custody of the cattle for maintenance, protection and welfare till the final adjudication of the matter.

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