LAWS FOR ANIMALS

Recently, there has been a rise in animal trading, in the country, where many people bring in foreign breeds and sell them. The traders, evidently, do it only for the money, charging above 20,000 takas per animal, without ensuring safety or any kind of medical treatment. Even though there are laws against animal cruelty, we see it persist in our society everyday. 

"The main piece of legislation that provides legal protection for animals in our country is the Cruelty to Animals Act 1920, which although is an antiquated piece of legislation in desperate need of modernisation to meet the demands of our times, is nonetheless quite extensive,” says Lawyer Nadia Choudhury. 

With regards to animal trading, the most pertinent provision comes under section 4 of the said Act which states, 'If any person- (a) overdrives, cruelty or unnecessarily beats, or otherwise ill-treats any animal, (b) binds, keeps or carries any animal in such a manner or position as to subject the animal to unnecessary pain or suffering, or (c) offers, exposes or has in his possession for sale any live animal which is suffering pain by reason of mutilation, starvation, thirst, overcrowding or other ill-treatment, or any dead animal which he has reason to believe to have been killed in an unnecessarily cruel manner, he shall be punished for every such offence with fine which may extend to one hundred Taka , or with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months, or with both.' 

“This legislation at its time provided adequate penalty to suffice as deterrence from offending, but fails to counter the gravity of such crimes today,” says Nadia. “Unfortunately, even in the international arena there is still much work left to be done with regards to legal instruments that protect animal rights,” she says. 

It clear that more preventative measures need to be taken to ensure animals are protected, and one of those measures must include legal protection and strong punitive actions against offenders to prevent them from committing such crimes.

The trade of foreign breeds of cats and dogs and certain birds has become very popular in our country, which is surprisingly being enabled by professed animal lovers. “If we love animals, we have to put an end to animal trading and teach our children to be responsible pet owners, instead of buying a pet on a whim from a pet store, or an individual who is selling,” she adds. Most importantly, we have to understand that such cruelty is punishable by law, albeit under an outmoded but fully functional law or under international instruments.

With so many cats and dogs out on the street in our country in need of loving homes, there should be absolutely no place for animal traders of any kind within our society. Nadia's last piece of advice to animal lovers across the nation- “Stop buying. Please adopt!”