ANIMAL WELFARE ORGANIZATIONS

 The Animal Welfare Board of India

 Ministry of Environment & Forests

 Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals ( RSPCA)

 World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA)

 Blue Cross of India

 Blue Cross of Hyderabad

 People For Animals

 Wildlife Institute of India

 Visakha SPCA

 India Project for Animals and Nature (IPAN)

 Action for Protection of Wild Animals (APOWA)

 Bombay SPCA

 Help In Suffering

 Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA) 

 Friendicoes Seca

 Madras SPCA

 In Defense of Animals

 Animal Rights International

 Pet Animal Welfare Society

 Calcutta SPCA

 Animal Rights Fund

 Animal Welfare Board of India

The Animal Welfare Board of India is a statutory advisory body on Animal Welfare
Laws and promotes animal welfare in the country. Established in 1962 under Section 4 of the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 (No. 59 of 1960), the Animal Welfare Board of
India was started under the stewardship of Late Smt. Rukmini Devi Arundale, well known
humanitarian.

Current status:

From ensuring that animal welfare laws in the country are diligently
followed, to provide grants to Animal Welfare Organizations and advising the Government of
India on animal welfare issues, the Board has been the face of the animal welfare movement in
the country for the last 50 years.

The Board consists of 28 Members. The term of office of Members is for a period of 3 years.

Role

Ensuring that animal welfare laws in the country are diligently followed, to provide grants to
Animal Welfare Organizations and advising the Government of India on animal welfare issues.

https://awbi.org/?q=node/14

Functions

a. To keep the law in force in India for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals under constant
study and to advise the government on the amendments to be undertaken in any such law
from time to time.

b. To advise the Central Government on the making of rules under the Act with a view to
preventing unnecessary pain or suffering to animals generally, and more particularly
when they are being transported from one place to another or when they are used as
performing animals or when they are kept in captivity or confinment.

c. To advise the Government or any local authority or other person on improvements in the
design of vehicles so as to lessen the burden on draught animals.
d. To take all such steps as the Board may think fit for amelioration of animals by
encouraging, or providing for the construction of sheds, water troughs and the like and by
providing for veterinary assistance to animals.

e. To advise the Government or any local authority or other person in the design of
slaughter houses or the maintenance of slaughter houses or in connection with slaughter
of animals so that unnecessary pain or suffering, whether physicrd or mental, is
eliminated in the pre- slaughter stages as far as possible, and animals are killed, wherever
necessary, in as humane a manner as possible.

f. To take all such steps as the Board may think fit to ensure that unwanted animals are
destroyed by local authorities,  whenever it is necessary to do so, either instantaneously
or after being rendered insensible to pain or suffering.

g. To encourage by the grant of financial assistance or otherwise, the formation or

establishment of Pinjarapoles, rescue homes, animals shelters, sanctuaries and the like,
where animals and birds may find a shelter when they have become old and useless or
when they need protection.

h. To co-operate with, and co-ordinate the work of associations or bodies established for the
purpose of preventing unnecessary pain or suffering to animals or for the protection of
animals and birds.

i. To give financial assistance and other assistance to Animal Welfare Organisations

functioping in any local area or to encourage the formation of Animal Welfare
Organisations in any local area which shall work under the general supervision and
guidance of the Board.

j. To advise the Government on matters relating to the medical care and attentionwhich
may be provided in animal hospitals, and to give financial and other assistance to animal
hospitals whenever the Board think it is necessary to do so.

k. To impart education inrelation to thehumane treatment of animals and to encourage the

formation of public opinion against the infliction of unnecessary pain or suffering to
animals and for the promotion of animal welfare by means of lectures books, posters,
cinematographic exhibitions and the like.

l. To advise the Government on any matter connected with animal welfare or the
Prevention of infliction of unnecessary pain or suffering on animals.
 THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS ACT, 1960

The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 (59 of 1960) (26th December, 1960)

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 Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960

(59 of 1960)

As amended by Central Act 26 of 1982.

Arrangement of sections

Chapter 1 - Preliminary

 Short title, extent and commencement.

 Definitions

 Duties of persons having charge of animals.

Chapter II - Animal Welfare Board Of India

 Establishment of Animal Welfare Board of India.

 Constitution of the Board.

o Reconstitution of the Board.

 Term of Office and conditions of services of members of the Board.

 Secretary and other employees of the Board.

 Funds of the Board.

 Functions of the Board.

 Power of Board to make regulations.

Chapter III - Cruelty To Animals Generally

 Treating animals cruelty.

 Penalty for practising Phooka or doom dev.

 Destruction of suffering animals.

Chapter IV - Experimentation Of Animals

 Experiments on animals.

 Committee for control and supervision of experiments on animals.

 Sub-Committee.

 Staff of the Committee.

 Duties of the Committee and power of the Committee to make rules relating to
experiments on animals

 Power of entry and inspection.

 Power to prohibit experiments an animals.

 Penalties.

Chapter V - Performing Animals

 "Exhibit" and "Trained" defined.

 Restriction on exhibition and training of performing animals.

 Procedure for registration

 Power of court to prohibit or restrict exhibition and training of performing animals.

 Power to enter premises

 Offences

 Exemptions.

Chapter VI - Miscellaneous

 Saving as respects manner of killing prescribed by religion.

 Power of court to deprive person convicted of ownership of animal.

 Presumptions as to guilt in certain cases.

 Cognizability of offences.

 Powers of search and seizure.

 Search warrants.
 General Power of Seizure for examination.

 Treatment and care of animals.

 Limitation of prosecutions.

 Delegation of powers.

 Power to make rules.

 Rules and regulations to be laid before Parliament.

 Persons authorised under section 34 to be public servants.

 Indemnity.

 Repeal of Act 11 of 1890.

 The Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals
(CPCSEA)

Role

(http://cpcsea.nic.in/Content/57_1_Objectives.aspx)

The role of CPCSEA is to ensure that animals are not subjected to unnecessary pains or suffering
before, during or after performance of experiments on them. For this purpose, under the
delegated powers, the Committee formulated the ‘Breeding of and Experiments on Animals
(Control and Supervision) Rules, 1998’ which were amended in 2001 and then in 2006, to
regulate the experimentation on animals.

Function

(http://cpcsea.nic.in/Content/58_1_Functions.aspx)

The main functions of CPCSEA are:

1. Registration of establishments conducting animal experimentation or breeding of animals

for this purpose.

2. Selection and assignment of nominees for the Institutional Animal Ethics Committees of
the registered establishments.

3. Approval of Animal House Facilities on the basis of reports of inspections conducted by

CPCSEA.

4. Permission for conducting experiments involving use of animals.

5. Recommendation for import of animals for use in experiments.

6. Action against establishments in case of established violation of any legal

norm/stipulation.

7. Conduct of Training Programmes for the Nominees of CPCSEA.

8. Conduct / Support of Conference / workshop on Animal Ethics.

PROTECTION OF WILD LIFE IN NATURE AND CAPTIVITY

 Forests are unlocked property, it is vast and open and hence vulnerable
for theft, hunting, killing, poaching and so on. Therefore, before going towards conservation or
management of wild life, it is essential to think over the problems facing in this direction which
are mainly as follows.

1. Vast habitat and distribution: Wildlife habitat and its distribution are not restricted only
inside the forest but come also the neighboring rivers, water-reservoirs, agricultural fields
and, hence, its conservation becomes difficult due to such vast areas.
2. Economical Problem: Due to vast habitat area, its conservation/ management requires
heavy fund.
3. Enormous growth in human population: It results conversion of forest into agricultural
fields, hunting of wild animals for foods etc.
4. Enhancement in cattle/livestock population: Increment in human population and livestock
goes side by side which causes adverse effect on wild populations.
5. Short-sightedness of human-beings: Pollutants as insecticides, by products of industries
in the form of gases and water pollutants, querry of mines etc. inside forest and such
other activities result or resulting habit shrinkages as well as death and disease among the
wild animals.
6. Selfishness of human-being: Hunting, poaching, killing, smuggling etc. of wild animals
have been hampering and suffering them a lot.
7. Unawareness among General Masses: Majority of people are poor and illiterate. They are
unaware about the importance of wildlife and its role in ecosystem. They are not fully
aware that wildlife is very much essential for eco-balance and is ultimately essential for
human-life.
8. Lack of scientific knowledge related to wildlife: Generally people or majority of the
people do not understand about ecological and scientific value of wildlife and hence, they
do not hesitate to hunt or kill them. They are unable to apprehend about loss made related
to wildlife and its consequences. It is essential to keep knowledge about the structure,
dynamics and its relations with wildlife populations, its habitat and the people.

For Effective conservation of wildlife, three basic needs such as adequate food and water, place
to breed in safety should be fulfilled. To achieve this, the following measure is in practice:

I. Reserved forests, national parks and sanctuaries are left unexploited; where total
unexpliotation is not possible, the cutting operation of the forests is done in limited
blocks at a time.
II. Growing of a single variety of plant is discouraged as far as possible, instead mixed
vegetation is encouraged.
III. Natural opening of the forests, waterholes and riversides are guarded against poachers.
IV. Controlled-burning of grassland, to increase forage and to preserve organic materials in
the soil, is done in blocks with unburnt area in between.
V. Provisions for dust-baths and artificial salt-licks are made in the forests for maintaining
the normal health of the animals.
VI. Grazing of domestic livestock are dangerous to wild animals, as the latter can never
compete successfully with domestic stock. Moreover, the domestic stock may be
 responsible for transmitting several contagious disease. Hence, grazing by domestic stock
in protected areas is avoided as far as possible.
VII. Scientific studies by qualified personnel on threatened species of animals are encouraged
in order to assess and improve their status, even by breeding them in captivity and
rehabilitating them in suitable habitats.
Several such measures have been undertaken and are operative but many more are needed to
check the decline of wildlife and to create conditions in which it can flourish with its diversity in
natural habitats.

But noting would be fruitful without the educational and publicity programmes for a change in
the human outlook, especially the new generations who are the builders of future society and
custodians of the nature. As stated earlier, there is a general lack of knowledge in the field of
conservation of nature and the values and benefits of wild in our country. Nature has been treated
as a milch cow. Anything useful to man is exploited indiscriminately and inevitably leading to its
depletion sometimes beyond redemption. In true sense, the word “ecology” remained in the
dictionary and as a fashion in scientific circles for several decedes and could not find place in
modern development. Actually, economy should be mitigated by ecology to halt such declining
trend.

To sum-up, the only permanent solution to the problems of protection of wildlife, which is part
of the marco-problem of protection of biosphere and its component ecosystems, lies in proper
understand of the living world and in the reorientation of the human outlook in proper and
progressive direction.