Garhwal Post Bureau
Roorkee, 4 Jun: After being alerted about a horrific incident of a community dog being beaten to death by a group of men in the Rajendra Nagar area during their attempt to capture and illegally relocate dogs, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals India (PETA India) worked with local activists Arti Sharma and Akash Bhardwaj to ensure that a First Information Report was promptly registered.
The incident took place on 20 May. According to reports, a group of men attempted to forcibly capture and remove community dogs from the locality. Four dogs were allegedly captured and loaded into an e-rickshaw and were on the verge of being taken away when local caregivers intervened. One of the dogs succumbed to injuries sustained during manhandling. The remaining three dogs were eventually rescued and brought back to safety by their caregivers. Based on video evidence and a complaint submitted by Ms Sharma, the Gangnahar Police Station registered an FIR against seven accused persons under Sections 3(5) and 325 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and Section 11(1)(l) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960. A postmortem examination of the deceased dog’s body was conducted, and the investigation is ongoing.
Section 325 of the BNS, 2023, categorises the maiming or killing of any animal as a cognisable offence and prescribes a punishment of imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years, or with a fine, or with both. Killing animals illegally by several persons in furtherance of a common intention is a punishable offence under Section 3(5) of BNS 2023. Section 11(l)(l) of the PCA Act, 1960, further makes the act of mutilating any animal or killing any animal (including stray dogs) a cognisable and punishable offence.
“We urge local municipal bodies to promptly implement humane animal birth control as required by law to reduce human-animal conflict, and we also urge the public to report cruelty to animals cases like these,” says PETA India Associate Manager of the Cruelty Response Team, Saloni Sakaria. “We commend Manibhushan Srivastav, Station House Officer of Gangnahar Police Station, for registering the FIR and sending a clear message that cruelty to animals will not be tolerated.”
Rule 11(19) of the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, permits the capture of community dogs only for the purpose of sterilisation, vaccination, and makes it illegal to relocate community animals. It states, “The dogs shall be released [after sterilisation] at the same place or locality from where they were captured.” The Supreme Court, in its order dated 22 August 2025, upheld the ABC Rules by reiterating that dogs shall be released back to their territories following the necessary procedures mandated in the ABC Rules, 2023.
PETA India recommends that perpetrators of animal abuse undergo a psychiatric evaluation and receive counselling, as abusing animals indicates a deep psychological disturbance. Research shows that people who commit acts of cruelty to animals are often repeat offenders who move on to hurting other animals, including humans. A study published in Forensic Research & Criminology International Journal stated, “Those who engage in cruelty to animals were [three] times more likely to commit other crimes, including murder, rape, robbery, assault, harassment, threats, and drug/substance abuse.”
PETA India – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way” – and which opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview, notes that community dogs are often subjected to cruelty or struck by cars and commonly suffer from starvation, disease, or injury. Every year, many end up in animal shelters, where they languish in cages or kennels for lack of enough good homes. The solution is simple: sterilisation and adoption from the streets or shelters.
