NEW DELHI, July 1: Ahead of the Eid al-Adha festival, during which animals such as goats and sheeps are sacrificed, PETA India has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to scrap a section of a law which allows killing of an animal as a religious ritual.
Section 28 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (PCA), 1960, should be done away with as it says that “nothing contained in this Act shall render it an offence to kill any animal in a manner required by the religion of any community”, the animal rights body said.
“I’m writing to you from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India on behalf of our more than two million members and supporters to request that you delete Section 28 of The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, which allows any animal to be killed in any manner for religion,” PETA India chief executive officer Manilal Valliyate said in a letter to the prime minister
“We hope you will agree that Section 28 is an aberration in the land of ‘ahimsa’, ‘karuna’, and, increasingly, modern technology and where Article 51A(g) of the Constitution of India requires compassion for all living creatures,” Valliyate said.
It has been held by the Supreme Court that this Article reflects the rich cultural heritage of the nation, the PETA official said.
The letter said that this provision (section 28) goes against the very purpose of the PCA Act, as it causes “unnecessary pain and suffering to animals and is now, in a modern society, outdated”. (PTI)
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