Objectives of the survey
Animal abuse is one of the most pressing problems of our time. The way we treat animals is not that different from our treatment of fellow human beings. As a species, we still need to learn the real meaning of living and letting live.
The world today has forgotten that Earth not only belongs to us but is a common space shared by all living beings. Each and every life on this planet has the same value associated with it. However, growing incidents of animal abuse do not support this view. Additionally, they suggest that humans have still not been able to adapt to co-existence.
To help these voiceless beings, the SK Children Foundation organized the event “ACTION FOR ANIMALS,” under their Project SSA (Serving Stray Animals). The event was about protecting stray animals from traffic accidents by tying fluorescent collars around the animals’ necks. Under this project, the volunteers conducted a survey in which they distributed questionnaires to gather public opinion on animal abuse. The survey aims to analyze the levels of awareness about animal abuse to work in the right direction to curb incidents of animal abuse.
Ignorant concern about animal abuse
According to the survey that we conducted, roughly 60% of the people grew up with pets, and some of them even grew up with more than one pet. Even those who have not grown up with pets claimed that they are extremely concerned about animal abuse, according to the survey around 72% of people are concerned about animal abuse. Only around 15% of those 72% of participants replied they would intervene if they saw a stray animal being mistreated.
However, turning a blind eye towards incidents of animal abuse makes them equally responsible for such acts. Being concerned only about your pets and not stray animals is not what an animal lover is.
Around 42% of the people in the survey said that though they are concerned about animal abuse, they had never witnessed animal abuse happening in their neighbourhood before. However, on the ground, most of them might even be involved in incidents of animal abuse but are simply unaware of actions constituting animal abuse. Even though more than 70% of people feel that animal abuse is an issue that still occurs today, their ignorance about such abuse speaks volumes about this irony.
Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act
The PACT Act is an act to prevent the infliction of unnecessary pain or suffering on animals and, for that purpose, to amend the law relating to the prevention of cruelty to animals.
The Animal Welfare Board of India keeps a record of the complaints of animal abuse forwarded to the States and Union Territories. The table below shows that since 2014-15, cases of animal abuse have increased more than two times.
| Year | No. of cruelty cases forwarded to States/UTs |
| 2014-15 | 155 |
| 2015-16 | 228 |
| 2016-17 | 256 |
| 2017-18 | 225 |
| 2018-19 | 144 |
| 2019-20 | 300 |
| 2020-21 | 383 |
The survey also showed that around 43% of the people were unaware of the PACT Act. Thus, the government needs to make people more aware of acts of animal abuse and regulate the pre-existing rules rather than amending or formulating new ones.
CONCLUSION
The survey shows that people are concerned about animal abuse but are too ignorant to take a stand against it. Many measures can be taken to prevent animal abuse.
PETA ( People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) India suggests some measures for curbing animal abuse. They are-
- Keep animals off your plate.
- Keep them out of your closet.
- Don’t visit any places that imprison animals.
- Only shop for vegan and animal-tested-free cosmetics.
There is a list of actions by the government of India that you can take if you witness animal abuse. Irrespective of being an animal lovers or not, none of us has the right to commit animal abuse. Simply not committing such acts doesn’t make one better, but taking a firm and appropriate stand does help in bringing about a change.
-SURABHI SINGH and JASMIN CHOUDHARY