Amend law to ban animal sacrifice, Peta India appeals to PM Modi ahead of Eid al-Adha



Peta India wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, appealing him to intervene and amend the law which allows animal to be killed in any manner required by religion.

Ahead of Eid al-Adha, animal rights organisation Peta India wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, appealing him to intervene in the matter of animal sacrifice during festivals and subsequently amend the law allowing the practice.

In its letter, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India, requested to remove Section 28 of The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960, which allows any animal to be killed in any manner required by any religion.

The central government is currently in the process of amending the Act.

In April, Peta India had submitted its recommendations to the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), which included recommending a ban on animal sacrifice.

"The exemption given for animal sacrifice goes against the very purpose of the PCA Act, as it causes unnecessary pain and suffering to animals and is now outdated in a modern society," said the animal rights organisation.

It also demanded that in the age of science and technology, animal sacrifice should be treated as punishable cruelty.

"Even though the PCA Act gives an exemption for animal sacrifice, such practices often stand in contradiction to the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, which protects indigenous wild species from hunting and capture," said Peta India chief executive officer Dr Manilal Valliyate.

"Gujarat, Kerala, Puducherry, and Rajasthan already have laws prohibiting religious sacrifice of any animal in any temple or its precinct," Peta India said in its letter.

"Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana prohibit the killing of any animal at any place of public religious worship or adoration or its precinct or in any congregation or procession connected with religious worship on a public street," it said further.

Source: India Today