Early Times Report
Jammu, Nov 25: Jammu and Kashmir administration has not been able to establish the Animal Welfare Board ever since the transition of the erstwhile State into a union territory.
Sources told Early Times that given the deteriorating condition of animals and environment in the UT, the need for constitution of Animal Welfare Board has been gaining momentum but due to delay on the part of the administration, many crucial laws which protect animal from cruelty could not be enforced.
“Non-implementation of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960, to prevent the infliction of unnecessary pain or suffering on animals is a cause of concern to all and in absence of any stringent laws people are abandoning their pets, breeding pets illegally, treating animals inhumanly and also using many like horses for their personal gains without any regulations,” they said.
Pertinently the Animal Welfare Board of India working under the aegis of the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, the Government of India is mandated to implement the provisions of PCA Act, 1960, and the Rules made there under. They further said that the overall objective cannot be realized in the absence of any State Level body to monitor and enforce such provisions and to bring the concepts of Animal Welfare into the policy framework of the respective Governments of State and Union Territories.
They further maintained that in recent past, the District level Societies for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals were registered in all the districts of J&K after a High Court order, but these boards are functioning only on papers while stray animals suffer from various wounds and diseases die unattended on the streets.
Despite repeated calls to the concerned official for his comment, the official didn’t respond. |
