CHENNAI: Following the intervention of the Ethical Treatment of Animals India (Peta India) and a complaint from a local caregiver, the MGR Nagar police in Chennai have booked a man on charges of poisoning community cats. The caregiver charged that community cats in the area had been poisoned repeatedly over a period of several months.Police have registered an FIR under Section 325 of the BNS while Peta has urged the police to include relevant sections of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960, in the FIR. “Peta India commends Chennai police, especially the MGR Nagar police station, for registering an FIR and sending the message that cruelty to animals will not be tolerated,” says Peta India lead cruelty response officer Sreekutty Raje.“Harm to community animals is a matter of grave public concern. People who are cruel to animals often move on to other animals and human victims, causing further violence. For everyone’s safety, it’s imperative that members of the public report cruelty to animals such as this one to the police,” Raje said.“Peta India recommends that perpetrators of animal abuse undergo psychiatric evaluation and receive counselling, as abusing animals indicates a deep psychological disturbance. Research shows that people who commit acts of cruelty to animals are often repeat offenders who move on to hurting other animals, including humans,” she said.A study published in Forensic Research & Criminology International Journal stated, “Those who engage in cruelty to animals were [three] times more likely to commit other crimes, including murder, rape, robbery, assault, harassment, threats and drug/substance abuse.”Community cats are often subjected to cruelty or struck by cars and commonly suffer from starvation, disease, or injury. Every year, many end up in animal shelters, where they languish in cages or kennels for lack of good homes. The solution is simple: sterilisation and adoption from the streets or shelters. Sterilising one female dog can prevent 67,000 births over six years, and sterilising one female cat can prevent 4.2 lakh births over seven years, said the release from Peta.
