Help Amend the Law to End Animal Sacrifice

PETA India has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting that Section 28 of The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960 – which allows any animal to be killed in any manner for religious purposes – be deleted. The central government is currently in the process of amending the Act, and in April, we submitted our recommendations – including a ban on animal sacrifice – to the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI).

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sacrifice goes against the very purpose of the PCA Act, as it causes unnecessary pain and suffering to animals and is outdated in a modern society.

PETA India has also sent out another round of letters to the directors general of police of all state governments and union territories as well as the AWBI urging them to take precautionary measures to stop illegal practices in the transport and killing of animals in the lead-up to Eid al-Adha.

Animal sacrifice in the country involves a huge variety of species, including sheep, goats, buffaloes, chickens, pigs, deer, foxes, and owls. The horrifying practices include beheading, twisting animals’ necks, attacking them with sharp instruments, crushing or even biting them to death, and slitting their throats while they’re fully conscious. 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.

Gujarat, Kerala, Puducherry, and Rajasthan already have laws in place prohibiting religious sacrifice of any animal in any temple or its precinct. Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana prohibit it in 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. Their actions demonstrate that progressive steps are needed to implement a similar prohibition throughout India.

You can help us ban animal sacrifice by signing the form below. The compiled signatures will be sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Hon'ble Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Shri Parshottam Rupala.

Appeal:

Dear Officials,

Section 28 of The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960, allows any animal to be killed in any manner for religious purposes. 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 outdated in a modern society.

Animal sacrifice in the country involves a huge variety of species, including sheep, goats, buffaloes, chickens, pigs, deer, foxes, and owls. The horrifying practices include beheading, twisting animals’ necks, attacking them with sharp instruments, crushing or even biting them to death, and slitting their throats while they’re fully conscious.

Gujarat, Kerala, Puducherry, and Rajasthan already have laws in place prohibiting religious sacrifice of any animal in any temple or its precinct. Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana prohibit it in 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. Their actions demonstrate that progressive steps are needed to implement a similar prohibition throughout India.

I request that Section 28 of the PCA Act, 1960, be removed.

Sincerely,

[Your Signature]

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