PETA India sounds alarm against failure of revised BNS Bill 2023 to criminalise sexual abuse of animals

The group has also sent urgent appeals to all members of parliament, urging them to demand continued protection of animals against sexual violence by ensuring a relevant provision is included in BNS, as has been recommended by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs (PSCOHA).

Based on recommendations made by PETA India and following a meeting with Shri Brij Lal, Chairperson of the PSCOHA, the PSCOHA recommended that the BNS include provisions to penalise acts of sexual abuse against animals.

The BNS is set to replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, and was reintroduced in the Lok Sabha on December 12, 2023.

"Providing the strongest level of legal protection for animals helps safeguard all our country's citizens, as the link between cruelty to animals and violence against humans is well-known," says PETA India Cruelty Case Division Legal Advisor and Manager Meet Ashar.

Union Minister of Home Affairs, Amit Shah was requested to ensure the inclusion of measures to penalise sexual abuse of animals, reinforcing our nation's commitment to a legal framework that reflects compassion and protection for all beings.

Section 377 of the IPC currently punishes sexual violence against animals, but there is no provision in the BNS Bill that affords animals the same protection.

Section 377 of the IPC regards rape of an animal as a non-bailable offence and carries a punishment of '[imprisonment for life] or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years and shall also be liable to fine.'

In 2021, the Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations released a report revealing that in the decade prior, nearly 500,000 animals, including cows and dogs, were victims of crimes and many had been subjected to sexual violence.

Previously, a Voice of Stray Dogs report calculated that the sexual abuse of animals was often underreported but likely committed at a similar rate to human rape cases.

PETA India notes that many violent criminals have a documented history of cruelty to animals.

A study published in the Journal of Emotional Abuse found that 71 per cent of women with companion animals who sought shelter from abuse at a safe home confirmed that their partner had threatened, injured, or killed the animals.

Meanwhile, a study published in the Forensic Research and Criminology International Journal warns, "Those who engage in animal cruelty were three times more likely to commit other crimes, including murder, rape, robbery, assault, harassment, threats, and drug and substance abuse. The major motivations for engaging in animal cruelty include anger, fun, control, fear, dislike, revenge, imitation, and sexual pleasure."

In India, Ameerul Islam, who was convicted of raping and murdering Kerala law student Jisha, had a history of raping and killing dogs and goats.

PETA India, whose motto reads, "Animals are not ours to experiment on, eat, wear, use for entertainment, or abuse in any other way," opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. (ANI)