No Comments
Security Agencies
Office of the Animal Welfare Officer (Hon)
Animal Welfare Board of India
(Ministry of Environment and Forests)
PFA Pune Unit
149 Bhawani Peth,
Pune 411 042. India
Ph : 020-26383036
Fax : 020-26383464
Ph : 9890044455
Thursday, March 12, 2009
AW/145/08-09
Dear Sir / Madam,
Circular : Recommendation to issue memo to prevent your personnel to prevent violation of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960 and other laws for protection of animals.
I have being receiving several complaints from concerned citizens where security personnel stationed in housing societies and private companies blatantly violating laws made to protect the rights of the animals under orders of your clients.
Some of the key complaints have been…
- Injuring animals on instructions of the society members.
- Throwing away / abandoning puppies / kitten in dustbins and garbage dumps.
- Brutal killing of stray animals by way of poisoning or beating them with batons / sticks / rods and even shooting from their licensed guns.
- Killing of snakes or capturing them using crude methods.
All such acts are a violation of various sub sections of the section (11) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Act and section 428 of the Indian Penal Code. In case of snakes penalties under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 are also attracted. Many of such offences are cognizable and attract an immediate arrest. . On the other hand such incidents undoubtedly also put the security personnel themselves at risk of attack from the animals.
I have taken a very serious note of these complaints and initiated action against several security personnel and left a few with warnings. I have also asked the NGOs in my region to step up monitoring for such cases.
In a very recent case aided by this office, 4 security personnel were arrested and criminal proceedings are on against them. These security personnel are likely to face an imprisonment up to 2 years. My intervention has ensured that the evidence collection and witnesses statements were done with precision and intention of ensuring a conviction on merits of the case.
It is a known fact that many of the personnel working a watchmen and security guards come from underprivileged section of society and are not aware of the rules and law related to protection of animals. Many of them violate the laws out of ignorance.
I would therefore strongly recommend that you issue an internal circular to all site offices where your personnel work to make them aware of fact that they may not harm any animal during the course of their duties. (save aside for emergency situations or in self defence, in case of self defense the nature of attack on the animal should co-relate to ferocity of the incident ). This will save your employees from unnecessary hardship and also spare you from the legal proceedings.
If I find that any security personnel employed by you indulge in violence towards the animals, I shall not only help initiate proceedings by police under the animal protection laws but also cause the concerned departments to instigate proceeding under the Private Security Agencies (Regulation) Act-2005 and Maharashtra Private Security Agencies (Regulation) Rules-2007
I hope you take the efforts to let your employees aware of the fact that they can not take law into their own hands and are not allowed to harm animals in the premises they are protecting.
Manoj Oswal
To,
The Directors / Owners / Partners of Private Security Agencies in Pune.
No Comments Yet