Table of Contents
Context
- Amid ongoing concerns of animal cruelty, Paris last week outlawed the use of wild animals in circuses in the city.
- France, meanwhile, is still considering enforcing a nation-wide ban.
Ban
- The debate concerning animal rights, animals being subjected to cruelty and being forced to live and perform in poor conditions have been a long-standing one.
- Although the numbers of wild animals being forced to perform in circuses around the world has dramatically reduced, especially over the past two decades, wild animals continue to be used in circuses in some countries.
- Most of these animals are kept in cages that are too small for their size and in deplorable, filthy conditions.
- Elephants, for instance, are forced to stand for prolonged periods on only their hind legs or on one single leg on a stage prop, despite their large bodies, forcing their entire weight on one limb or two limbs.
- According to data by the Animal Defenders International (ADI), an animal rights group that monitors the use of animals for human entertainment, most European countries have nationwide bans on wild animals in circuses.
- Wild animals have been used in circuses across India for decades, but in November last year, the central government issued draft rules proposing a ban on the use of all animals in circuses.
- Under section 38 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 (59 of 1960) MoEFCC proposed the ‘Performing Animals (Registration) (Amendment) Rules, 2018’.
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act
- The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted in 1960 to prevent the infliction of unnecessary pain or suffering on animals and to amend the laws relating to the prevention of cruelty to animals.
- As per the provisions of the law the government of India formed the Animal Welfare Board of India.
- Environment Ministry has issued a clarification that the notification is issued on the basis of the Supreme Court order in the case of Gauri Maulekhi versus Union of India and others.
Way Forward
- The success of WLPA, or for that matter, any law depends on the constituents in any such programmes. There are many success stories in which local communities participated and saved wildlife