11. Treating animals cruelly.―(1) If any person―
(a) beats, kicks, over-rides, over-drives, over-loads, tortures or otherwise treats any animal so
as to subject it to unnecessary pain or suffering or causes or, being the owner permits, any animal
to be so treated; or
(b) 1
[employs in any work or labour or for any purpose any animal which, by reason of its age
or any disease], infirmity, wound, sore or other cause, is unfit to be so employed or, being the
owner, permits any such unfit animal to be so employed;
(c) wilfully and unreasonably administers any injurious drug or injurious substance to 2
[any
animal] or wilfully and unreasonably causes or attempts to cause any such drug or substance to be
taken by 2
[any animal]; or
(d) conveys or carries, whether in or upon any vehicle or not, any animal in such a manner or
position as to subject it to unnecessary pain or suffering; or
(e) keeps or confines any animal in any cage or other receptacle which does not measure
sufficiently in height, length and breadth to permit the animal a reasonable opportunity for
movement; or
(f) keeps for an unreasonable time any animal chained or tethered upon an unreasonably short
or unreasonably heavy chain or cord; or
(g) being the owner, neglects to exercise or cause to be exercised reasonably any dog
habitually chained up or kept in close confinement; or
(h) being the owner of 3
[any animal] fails to provide such animal with sufficient food, drink
or shelter; or
(i) without reasonable cause, abandons any animal in circumstances which render it likely that
it will suffer pain by reason of starvation or thirst; or
1. Subs. by Act 26 of 1982, s.10, for certain words (w.e.f. 30-7-1982).
2. Subs. by s. 10, ibid., for “any domestic or captive animal” (w.e.f. 30-7-1982).
3. Subs. by s. 10, ibid., for “any captive animal” (w.e.f. 30-7-1982).
9
(j) wilfully permits any animal, of which he is the owner, to go at large in any street while the
animal is affected with contagious or infectious disease or, without reasonable excuse permits any
diseased or disabled animal, of which he is the owner, to die in any street; or
(k) offers for sale or, without reasonable cause, has in his possession any animal which is
suffering pain by reason of mutilation, starvation, thirst, overcrowding or other ill-treatment; or
1
[(l) multilates any animal or kills any animal (including stray dogs) by using the method of
strychnine injections in the heart or in any other unnecessarily cruel manner; or]
2
[(m) solely with a view to providing entertainment—
(i) confines or causes to be confined any animal (including tying of an animal as a bait in
a tiger or other sanctuary) so as to make it an object of prey for any other animal; or
(ii) incites any animal to fight or bait any other animal; or]
(n) 3
*** organises, keeps, uses or acts in the management of, any place for animal fighting or
for the purpose of baiting any animal or permits or offers any place to be so used or receives
money for the admission of any other person to any place kept or used for any such purposes; or
(o) promotes or takes part in any shooting match or competition wherein animals are released
from captivity for the purpose of such shooting;
he shall be punishable, 4
[in the case of a first offence, with fine which shall not be less than ten rupees
but which may extend to fifty rupees and in the case of a second or subsequent offence committed
within three years of the previous offence, with fine which shall not be less than twenty-five rupees
but which may extend to one hundred rupees or with imprisonment for a term which may extend to
three months, or with both].
(2) For the purposes of sub-section (1), an owner shall be deemed to have committed an offence if
he has failed to exercise reasonable care and supervision with a view to the prevention of such
offence:
Provided that where an owner is convicted of permitting cruelty by reason only of having failed to
exercise such care and supervision, he shall not be liable to imprisonment without the option of a fine.
(3) Nothing in this section shall apply to―
(a) the dehorning of cattle, or the castration or branding or nose-roping of any animal, in the
prescribed manner; or
(b) the destruction of stray dogs in lethal chambers or 5
[by such other methods as may be
prescribed]; or
(c) the extermination or destruction of any animal under the authority of any law for the time
being in force; or
(d) any matter dealt with in Chapter IV; or
1. Subs. by Act 26 of 1982, s. 10, for clause (l) (w.e.f. 30-7-1982).
2. Subs. by s. 10, ibid., for clause (m) (w.e.f. 30-7-1982).
3. The words “for the purposes of his business” omitted by s.10, ibid. (w.e.f. 30-7-1982).
4. Subs. by s. 10, ibid., for certain words (w.e.f. 30-7-1982).
5. Subs. by s. 10, ibid., for “by other methods with a minimum of suffering” (w.e.f. 30-7-1982).
10
(e) the commission or omission of any act in the course of the destruction or the preparation
for destruction of any animal as food for mankind unless such destruction or preparation was
accompanied by the infliction of unnecessary pain or suffering.
12. Penalty for practising phooka or doom dev.―If any person performs upon any cow or other
milch animal the operation called phooka or 1
[doom dev or any other operation (including injection of
any substance) to improve lactation which is injurious to the health of the animal] or permits such
operation being performed upon any such animal in his possession or under his control, he shall be
punishable with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with imprisonment for a term
which may extend to two years, or with both, and the animal on which the operation was performed
shall be forfeited to the Government.
13. Destruction of suffering animals.―(1) Where the owner of an animal is convicted of an
offence under section 11, it shall be lawful for the court, if the court is satisfied that it would be cruel
to keep the animal alive, to direct that the animal be destroyed and to assign the animal to any suitable
person for that purpose, and the person to whom such animal is so assigned shall, as soon as possible,
destroy such animal or cause such animal to be destroyed in his presence without unnecessary
suffering, and any reasonable expense incurred in destroying the animal may be ordered by the court
to be recovered from the owner as if it were a fine:
Provided that unless the owner assents thereto, no order shall be made under this section except
upon the evidence of a veterinary officer in charge of the area.
(2) When any magistrate, commissioner of police or district superintendent of police has reason to
believe that an offence under section 11 has been committed in respect of any animal, he may direct
the immediate destruction of the animal, if in his opinion, it would be cruel to keep the animal alive.
(3) Any police officer above the rank of a constable or any person authorised by the State
Government in this behalf who finds any animal so diseased or so severely injured or in such a
physical condition that in his opinion it cannot be removed without cruelty, may, if the owner is
absent or refuses his consent to the destruction of the animal, forthwith summon the veterinary officer
in charge of the area in which the animal is found, and if the veterinary office certifies that the animal
is mortally injured or so severely injured or in such a physical condition that it would be cruel to keep
it alive, the police officer or the person authorised, as the case may be may, after obtaining orders
from a magistrate, destroy the animal injured or cause it to be destroyed 2
[in such manner as may be
prescribed].
(4) No appeal shall lie from any order of a magistrate for the destruction of an animal.