People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India has demanded a psychiatric evaluation and correction for four children from Thane who allegedly tortured three puppies to a gruesome death.
The four allegedly killed three-month-old puppies by gouging their eyes, cutting off their paws, breaking their bones and finally striking them with a huge stone.
After receiving word about the children, PETA India wrote a letter to the Commissioner of Police, Thane, calling for an investigation and for the children to be handled by a juvenile corrections facility, to be required to undergo psychiatric evaluation and counselling.
In the letter, PETA said the crime is an apparent punishable offence under Section 429 of the Indian Penal Code as well as Sections 11(1)(a) and (l) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960. It offered to send its its humane education kit, Compassionate Citizen, to the school where the children study to help raise awareness about compassion for animals.
The matter came to light after PETA India’s emergency response team received a call from Priyanka Dabholkar, founder and president of Animal Welfare Trust, a Thane NGO working for the protection of stray animals. PETA worked with Ms. Dabholkar to get the police to at least summon the children’s parents to the police station, but the group has warned that the children need professional help before a human victim is next.
PETA Emergency Response coordinator Meet Ashar said, “Today these poor puppies had their eyes gouged and their bones broken before they were killed. Tomorrow, if this cruel behaviour is not addressed, human victims may be next. It is imperative for the children, if found guilty, to be suitably corrected for the entire community’s safety.”
The organisation pointed out that history is replete with violent offenders whose tendencies were first directed at animals. In the U.S., Albert DeSalvo, who killed 13 women, had trapped dogs and cats and shot arrows at them through boxes in his youth, while serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer impaled frogs, cats, and dogs’ heads on sticks.
In the U.K., Steven Barker, whose actions contributed to a baby’s torture and death, previously enjoyed torturing guinea pigs and other animals, and he would skin frogs before breaking their legs. In India, Ameerul Islam raped and killed dogs and goats before being sentenced to death for raping and murdering a Kerala law student.
PETA India has for long been campaigning to strengthen the PCA Act, as it contains outdated penalties such as a maximum fine of only ₹50 for convicted first-time adult offenders.