IAR News

November 2003

Kerala: Animal cruelty case registered to go to court

In July, an adult male dog came into our care following a phone call to our rescue centre in Kerala. He had been left to die, his muzzle tightly held shut with a piece of material. We did not know at the time whether he would survive since his injuries were so severe.

Once the piece of material was removed from his muzzle, it became painfully obvious that the poor dog had been in such state for at least one week, resulting in the rotted flesh falling off and revealing bone underneath. Within the week, the dog’s plight was featured in the newspaper and people were made aware of the extreme cruelty of this case. We were now determined to let people know that animal cruelty was a criminal offence and sought the identity of the individual responsible for the animal’s suffering.

We soon found out the identity of the owner (and consequently the dog’ name) and filed a complaint with the Kovalam Police station requesting an investigation. In addition, we asked for police assistance in going to the owner’s house to confront him with photographic evidence of his cruelty. The owner was absent at the time, so we went to a relative’s place of business which was situated nearby. There, the police officer took down the names of three witnesses who confirmed the dog owner’s identity. We were well on our way to prosecuting the individual for his heinous crime.

In September, we were called into the Kovalam police station to confront the owner. He of course denied ever owning a dog, which did nothing to deter us from pursuing the case further. Following a week of silence on the part of the police, we went to Trivandrum to bring the matter before the City Police Commissioner, who listened to our case and assured us of prompt action.

By mid-October, the case against the dog’s owner was registered to go to court under section 429 IPC: Cruelty Against Animals. This was such an important step that once again,we were featured in the newspapers. The case was getting the attention it deserved!

We are now awaiting the commencement of the trial and intend to go to court to present our evidence. We trust that justice will be served, that the owner will be convicted of animal cruelty and that the case will be publicised so that people realise that such acts of violence will not be tolerated.

As for the dog, he is now a permanent resident of our rescue centre. He is blind as a result of the trauma and the skin around his muzzle will never grow back. Nevertheless, he is now safe, well looked after and has found a loving home. We have given him a new name, Khan, to reflect his new lease on life.

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