What should I do if I witness Cruelty to Animals?

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What should I do if I witness Cruelty to Animals
What should I do if I witness Cruelty to Animals

What should I do if I witness Cruelty to Animals?

 

Cruelty to animals is extremely agonising and heartbreaking and happens in every nook and corner of the world.

The only way to stop it is YOU and US coming together and becoming the voice of the ones who have different tones and textures of communicating. (the rest of the animals).

First and foremost…

STOP being selective and think and empathize beyond DOGS & CATS:-

Dogs and cats are the most domesticated animals and are favourites of many throughout the world as pets.

To what extent and depth an animal can be loving, caring and thankful towards humans are what a dog or a cat owner could easily describe. And humans too develop intense emotional bonds with their pooches and kitties. However, they fail to understand other animals and the others are often neglected.

But just as your dog or the cat feel pain, happiness, grief and gratitude, other animals too go through the same emotions. The only difference is in their way of expression.

A dog or a cat is extremely expressive animals whereas a cow or a crocodile or a rat aren’t that expressive but do feel the pain and agony they are put through.

 

Following are the things you can do when you see an animal in distress, torture, pain or being subjected to cruelty:

  1. You can help somebody only when you remain calm and stable- 

Whenever you see an animal in pain or a wounded distressed animal, just like how you need a doctor, the animals too need one.

The animal may need immediate veterinary care so without wasting time kindly take the animal to a vet.

The doctor for animals is called a veterinarian. So you will need to take the animal to a veterinary clinic or hospital.

If you are an animal lover and want to work for animals, always have a good genuine veterinary clinic’s or hospital’s number saved in your mobile phone or a dairy always handy so that in times of immediate need, you can quickly call for help or at least you would know where to take the animal for help.

This little homework would save you a lot of time in need of immediate help and could also save the life of the animal you want to save as sometimes a little delay can cause the animal to lose his/her life.

Following are some measures you can take up whenever you encounter cruelty inflicted on animals or animals in dior need of help-

 

  1. Speak up and be stern-

If you see a dog or a cat or a cow or a horse or a donkey or any other animal chained for hours and days together, approach the person/people doing so and befriend them to make positive changes.

But what if the person doesn’t listens to you? In such a situation, you’ll have to stand up for the animal and lodge a complaint against him/her because if you don’t speak up then nobody will.

2. Prepare evidence- 

Many people around the world can be obnoxiously and horrifically be cruel to animals and are also unapologetic about it. Some can also be very defensive and give a list of justifications justifying their cruel acts on the animals.

Do not fall for their stories and document the cruelty that they are inflicting on to the animals.

Take a photo or a video with your mobile phone and be sure to capture important information such as –

  • the license plate of the Abuser’s vehicle.
  • Nothing better than if you capture the face of the animal abuser inflicting the torture and cruelty on the animal.
  • Collect witnesses if you can and get medical statements from experts such as the veterinarians about the animal’s cause of death and physical condition.

Photo Credit: Mfoa

3. File a First Information Report (FIR) at the nearest police station of the crime scene-

Report the animal cruelty to the police and file an FIR against the animal abuser.

An FIR sets the process of criminal justice in motion and enables an investigation to begin by the police of the entire case.

Please note- After filing an FIR, always take a copy of the FIR registered from the Police with you which is the evidence you must have.

But what if the Police Officer refuses to lodge an FIR?

If your FIR isn’t registered then take the matter up with the Superintendent of Police or other higher-level officers such as Deputy Inspector of Police or the Inspector General of Police. Besides this, you can also file a private complaint with the court.

 

4. Educate yourself with knowing the laws for animal protection- 

Learn about animal protection laws by visiting the websites of the Animal Welfare Board of India and the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change.

 

5. Contact animal protection groups or NGOs-

For this, you’ll have to make a little effort and discover genuine animal protection groups or NGOs in your area/city that is always up for helping animals.

Please note- Today there are many NGOs who fake “helping” animals rather use them to attract fundings and money through donations for helping animals but in reality do no good for the animals. So a genuine enquiry and study of the animal NGO is a must in order to save your time and money as well as the animals from being used for donations and a source of income.

You can also use PETA’s helpful links to online directories.

PETA: (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is an organisation to help animals in need. If you see an animal in immediate danger, you can contact such organisations that offer immediate rescue help.

You can also look for animal helping groups and organisation online for your particular area/locality/city/country.

 

6. Spread the word and start educating people-

Caring for anybody else other than you is a beautiful trait. Some have it with birth and others develop it with time. But there are many who haven’t yet reached on to that consciousness of care and compassion for others than their own self.

Besides this, there are also people in the world who haven’t even taken their minds to even a single thought of helping the animals or even considering them “living beings”.

There are many in the world who even consider animals as mere objects and beings shallow to the human race and some even proudly label the animals to be man’s obvious servants.

All these are mental barriers and lack of empathy towards other beings in existence and the root cause of it is lack of education. But lack of education not only of the laws and books but also of the consciousness.

Besides the all mentioned above, the best help that’ll be the utmost beneficial in the longer run is to:

Educate not only your family members or friends but also the people on streets-

Make an effort to pick up a conversation with especially the auto-rickshaw guys you meet, the vegetable vendor or a farmer, the maid who works at your home, the people who use animals to run their bull carts and load piles and piles of weight on their bodies, and educate them to be understanding and compassionate towards the animals they are using or any animal they see on the streets and stop being cruel towards them and stop using them for their business or any meet any other ends they have as many of them are found to be either less informed and educated or deprived of education and exposures that are a must in the evolution of one’s mind and conduct.

You can always help to educate them than just labelling them bad or cruel. As being than cruel, they are the directionless and lack the right perspectives.

Should you always approach an NGO or somebody else to help animals? 

No. You can always do your bit individually too.

  • Feed the street dogs or cats or cows or any other animals you encounter-
  • Help offered in any form is a help. Feed atleast one meal a day to the dogs or the cows or the donkey or the pigs you see near to you. In summers, offer them water to drink.
  • Please note- It’s our humble request to please feed fresh food to the animals too and not stale or spoilt food as many are in the habit of feeding the spoilt or too stale food to the animals thinking nothing happens to the animal. Animals too fall sick so please feed the best if you are wanting to.
  • Provide them shelter- Summers can be extremely excruciating and winters can be equally painful. If you save on some money, you can-
  • Buy warm dog or cat clothes and put them on winters.
  • For bigger animals, create a place covered with shafts in summers to protect them from excess gear with feeding them water and food.
  • Do not miss out on feeding water to the animals as food can still be accessible but clean drinking water is rarely accessible to the animals.
  • Make a small brick house for the street dogs and cats- 
  • If you cannot afford a shaft or create something that involves money spending, there are still ways to help the animals.
  • Make a small brick house for the animals to save them from excess cold and heat.
  • If possible, allow a small part of your house to shelter a few dogs or cats.

 

Educate the Children- Stop the children from throwing stones at the animals- Educate the children to not hit the dogs or the cows, birds or any other animal with stones and never play a mischief with any animal like bursting crackers close to them or scaring or beating them unnecessarily.

Such behaviours are to be reported quickly to their parents or neighbours.

 

Stop the overloaded vehicles with goods- Always STOP a bull cart or any other vehicle that has excess goods loaded on to it with a horse or a cow or a donkey running it-

There are a huge number of animals even today tied up to vehicles and forced to carry excess weights on their backs as a cheaper mode of transport. We all have to get UNITED TO PUT AN END TO IT.

 

STOP overloaded vehicles with animals- Please always stop such vehicles overloaded with excessive goods and tell them to not use the animals for such means as nobody realises but that piles of weight are literally crashing the animal.

 

Anybody reading this from Shani Shignapur, (close to Shirdi, India)- Lots of bulls and cows are loaded with heavy stocks of sugarcane and loaded gunny bags and made to walk miles and miles carrying that excess weight.

The same happens to Donkeys and Yacks in the hilly areas.

It is quite evident looking at those bulls and cows not at all being able to take such excessive weight on their body and their legs shaking and trembling with extreme pain and yet their riders beating them brutally to make them walk forcefully.

Many bulls and cows and buffalos are even seen crashing on the roads. Their eyes are filled in agony and extreme pain. PLEASE help this STOP and request the farmers to stop using the bulls and the cows and other animals and stop treating them so horrifically.

REMEMBER, what one does influences and impacts the other. Your efforts can be a great influence to your onlookers and can motivate them to a great extent to develop compassion towards others. You can be an inspiration through your actions.

So as many as you influence, they will further influence others and therefore can lead to world transformation.

 

Animal FIRST-AID KIT- Prepare and always keep an animal Fist-Aid Kit handy- 

You can at any time anywhere encounter an animal abuse or a wounded animal in need of immediate medical attention.

Please keep an animal First-Aid Kit always handy at home and even in the vehicle you drive, if you own a personal vehicle.

What should be included in the animal First Aid Kit?

–  Will be included in the next post. 

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