Dog thrown off a roof in Chennai: Animal rights activist calls for stringent laws

A couple of days after a video of a man throwing a dog from the rooftop of a building in Chennai emerged, the incident has received widespread media coverage and created a major furore. Shravan Krishnan was among the group of activists which was at the forefront of the campaign seeking justice in the case. “The existing laws to deal with such cases of animal abuse are not adequate at all. Such an offence must be made non-bailable and there must be a higher quantum of punishment. At present, a person who tortures animals in this way can get away by paying merely a Rs 50 fine,” Krishnan told Firstpost from Chennai. “A revised version of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 still remains stuck in Parliament. The legislature needs to pass this law to prevent such incidents,” he said.

A group of animal rights activists came to know about the horrific instance of abuse after several people tagged them while sharing the video on social media. “We also shared the video on social media and it soon become viral. Later, we got several leads in the matter and passed on the information that we received to the police,” Krishnan recalled. To a question on the importance of changing people’s attitudes towards animal rights, the activist said, “First, the laws which are presently inadequate and ineffective need to made more stringent. If this happens, it will lead to a change in public attitudes.” A medical student and his friend have been arrested in the case by the Chennai Police. While the former is seen in the video throwing the dog from the terrace, the latter is said to have filmed the video. A case has been filed under IPC sections 428 and 429, and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (Sec 11 (1-a). Although the dog has survived the ordeal, it has suffered fractures on its front and hind legs. However, the animal is undergoing treatment and is recovering well, PTI has quoted a police official as saying.