STATE OF ANIMAL WELFARE AND THE DUTY OF THE LEGAL FRATERNITY

Dr.Ravindranath Dabare53 and Thilini Attapattu54

As far as Sri Lanka is concerned, a considerable number of Acts and Ordinances have been imposed in different spheres. In Parliament, many discussions, arguments, and speeches are made on animal welfare. There even exists a rich debate about animal welfare in the present society

In analysing the issue, it is important to analyse the way, how these animals are treated by their masters.

“Thegreatnessofanationcanbejudgedbythewayitsanimalsaretreated.”

- Mahatma Gandhi –

This statement reflects the ethics, morals and attitudes of an individual who always respects the equal rights of all living creatures and beings. A social animal has the tendency to radiate limitless sense of kindness, sympathy and empathy to the animals who live in and around his premises for survival. Man by nature is capable of extending his bonds of love and care to the animals all around him.

It is the duty and the responsibility of the person who rears an animal to provide it with the basic and other physical as well as emotional needs and requirements for a happy and content life.

As far as the present setting is considered, it is a relief to see that the necessary legal requirements are being promoted by the cabinet to ensure the rights of the animals who live under human care. Yet, no enforceable laws exist.

How attorneys at law can contribute to support animal welfare;

Taking legal action against violators and promoting a healthy relationship between animals and mankind is crucial to protecting wildlife, making it essential to address matters that disrupt the bond and relationship between man and animal. Because animals are not capable of rational thinking, it is the duty and responsibility of man to treat animals as one of his own family members. Right to receive love and affection from mankind by the animals, is one of the most important thing to be advocated by the legal fraternity

To find out the reasons for the failure of the man in establishing a strong bond with the animal, a large number of facts are to be explored. Mainly the ignorance and lack of awareness with regard to requirements of animals, their importance, and ignorance of our duties could be treated as primary reasons. In some other cases it may be the loopholes of the legal system from which he can very easily escape. However due to this void the innocent victim is the animal. 53 (PhD) Attorney at Law, Chairman Center for Environmental Justice 54 LL.B (Graduate)

Victimization of elephants and stray dogs by cruel and inhumane treatment

Over the past few years, many incidents occurred raising concerns whether animals in Sri Lanka are truly protected from cruel and inhumane treatment. Sri Lankan elephants are considered an exotic feature of Sri Lanka’s ecosystem are placed in a devastating position, subjected to cruel and inhumane treatment.

One such incident that drew the attention of the public and international organizations is the cruelty towards domesticated elephants in Sri Lanka. Elephants are kept in religious premises to be used in processions and cultural parades. They are chained in zoos to attract onlookers and used to give rides to tourists.

Many cases were reported and highlighted by the media where elephants are subjected to burden of deployment of unnecessary work as well as where famous personalities such as well-known politicians and priests have been convicted and arrested for illegally possessing baby elephants without a permit.

According to the charges, many of them were subject to illegal trafficking which violates the existing legal provisions to protect elephants in Sri Lanka under the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance. Under Section 22A of this Ordinance, it is stipulated that, “nopersonmaypossess,haveinhiscustodyormake useofanelephantunlessitisregisteredandunlessalicenseinrespectoftheelephanthasbeenobtained inaccordancewiththeprovisionsofthissection.” There were records of approximately 60 baby elephants that were found stolen from the jungles of Habarana, Udawalawe, and kept in the possession of many influential people such as politicians and priests in recent years.

It is the duty of the attorneys at law to advocate for preventing these types of occurrences.

Another notable incident that drew the attention of the public and animal activists is the extermination of stray cats and dogs inside the Jayewardenepura and Moratuwa University premises. It was reported that the respective authorities of Jayewardenepura University and a private contracted company called ‘Ultrakill’ was responsible for sedating and getting rid of stray dogs, while Moratuwa University, for curbing stray dogs and cats in the facilities of university, took the same action by hiring a private contractor to repel stray dogs.

Unfortunately, the dogs were sedated with ketamine and two dogs died from drug overdoses. The stray dogs that were removed from the property were later found lying on a piece of land. The problem to be identified in the existing circumstances is that the authorities are not resorting to the legally prescribed method of seizing and detaining stray dogs that are suspected to be sick,

Identifying sick dogs and disposing or treating of those dogs has to be done in accordance with the provisions of the Dog Registration Ordinance and the Rabies Ordinance of Sri Lanka. But unfortunately, the animals became victims of inhumane and cruel treatment subjected to unnecessary and superfluous injuries. It is clear that these two practical scenarios reflect the problem related to cruel and inhumane treatment of animals in Sri Lanka.

Existing Legislation and its Applicability

Legislation in Sri Lanka providing for the protection of animal rights in Sri Lanka can be listed below.

● Ordinance for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals No. 13 of 1907 amended in 1912, 1917, 1919, 1921,1927, 1930, 1945

● Registration of Dogs Ordinance No. 25 of 1901 as Modified by numbers 20 of 1915, 03 of 1920, 21 of 1921, 26 of 1938, 61 of 1939, 12 of 1945, 23 of 1946, 19 of 1947 and 60 of 1961.

● Animals Act No. 29 of 1958 as amended in 1968, 1988, 2009 and Regulations framed in Gazettes 1962, 1965, 2000, and 2009.

● Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance No.2 of 1937 as amended in 1942, 1944, 1945, 1948, 1964, 1970, 1993 and 2009.

‘The Animal Welfare Bill in Sri Lanka was originally drafted in 2006 but it has never been enacted despite continued public support to expedite the implementation of it over couple of years.’

With the recent string of horrific acts of violence towards animals including dog and a cat both being set on fire, puppies being beaten to death with sticks and elephants are killed brutally. Therefore, it is a must to take remedial actions to stop the violence done by man on animals in Sri Lanka. We as humans and attorneys at laws should advocate the prevention of cruelty to the animals and to acknowledge and respect the rights of all living creatures in and around our premises.

In this context it is important that we need to influence and put a presence on the authorities to provide welfare of the animals.

During the last year many shocking incidents regarding cruelty to animals took place in Sri Lanka, which attracted the attention of the public. These incidents gave rise to the discussion of animal rights and many protests claiming that animals should be free from torture and abuse. The right to be free from cruelty should be identified as an animal right which is crucial in order to protect such animals and ensure the recognition of the welfare of animals in Sri Lanka.

Even our Parliament does not support animal rights and those are not included in any election manifesto, maybe because these animals have no voting rights, no money and power. Sri Lanka has laws in place to prevent cruelty to animals. Few people pay attention to this, and cruelty to animals continues. It is clear, when considering recent events, that the prevailing law has not been properly and effectively implemented to control violations of animal rights or to protect the abuse of animals in Sri Lanka. When we compare other jurisdictions in the world, our country has taken some initiatives in recent years to strengthen the current legal system in Sri Lanka for the protection of animals.

The basic law that ought to be analysed, which is the main piece of legislation dealing with protection of animals from cruelty in Sri Lanka is the Cruelty to Animals Ordinance No: 13 of 1907. This statute underwent subsequent amendments in 1912, 1917, 1919, 1921, 1927, 1930, 1945 and the last amendment is No. 22 of 1955..

The preamble to this Ordinance states that, “itisanOrdinancetomakebetterprovisionsforprevention ofcrueltytoanimals.”

Section 2 of the Ordinance defines the “offense of cruelty” by stating that Anypersonwhoshall a.Cruellybeat,ill-treat,andover-drive,orcauseorprocuretobecruellybeaten,ill-treated,over-driven, overridden,abusedortortureanyanimal b.Causeunnecessarypainorsufferingtoanyanimalbyanactoromission c.Conveyorcarryorcausetheminvehicles,basket,box,orcageorotherwiseanyanimalorposition animalssoastosubjectthemtounnecessarypainorsufferingwillbecommittingtheoffenseofcruelty. (HereinafterreferredtoasPCAO)

According to the section 22 of the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance No. 2 of 1937, Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance, valid registration and license are required to keep an elephant in custody.

Despite the tragedies, and the high number of strays, there are many in Sri Lanka who campaign for animal welfare, who are also engaged in volunteering to support feeding, spaying, and caring for abandoned dogs.

There are many aspects of animal welfare in Sri Lanka that need improvement. Perhaps most importantly, the media can help create a culture of responsible pet ownership. Rules and regulations are important because even if you can't change everyone's attitude, you can change behaviour. The Law for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Sri Lanka enacted by the colonial government in 1907 is mainly ineffective because its penalties were never updated. The maximum fee is only 100 rupees. The authorities tend to believe that it is not worth pursuing cases involving outrageous animal cruelty.

Although this ordinance applies to the situation of victimized stray dogs discussed above this too does not directly deal with laws against the cruelty that these dogs might face.

“Iaminfavorofanimalrightsaswellashumanrights.Thatisthewayofawholehumanbeing”.

-Abraham Lincoln-

In order to overcome the above shortcomings and improve the existing legal system to address animal cruelty issues ., Sri Lankan legislature and animal activists have taken some notable initiatives to address this issue

One such important step is the drafting of the ‘Animal Welfare Bill’, which was approved by the cabinet in 2016, although it has yet to be enacted into law in Sri Lanka. However, this bill introduces many novel provisions to improve the existing animal welfare law in Sri Lanka. Section 80 provides definitions for “animal”, "captive animal", which has expanded the existing definition of "animal" in the Ordinance to mean "any living creature other than a human being". Article 3 expressly recognizes the concept of “duty of care”. In Parts VII, VIII, and IX, the bill establishes “Cruelty-to-Animal Offenses,” “Prohibited Conduct,” and “Penalty,” respectively, comprehensively defining the different crimes and prohibited conduct that are punishable under the bill, while Part XII provides for the “Investigation and Prosecution” of crimes committed.

In addition, perpetrators can be sentenced under the jurisdiction of the Court of First Instance and can also be sentenced to more severe penalties. Most importantly, the bill proposes the establishment of a "National Animal Welfare Authority" in section 5.

It is also favourable to recommend laws supervising the extermination of stray dogs to end the unnecessary suffering and pain that stray dogs are subjected to in order to rid Sri Lanka of rabies. "The solution is not the destruction, but the control of the canine population through CNVR (Catch, Neuter, Vaccinate and

Release), the humane and sustainable method recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organization of Animal Health (OIE) which Sri Lanka is obliged to follow, being a member of both organizations.

It's not just about the bill itself; we need a responsible group that can look into these issues, as some animal organizations aren't entirely honest about their goals

Let us hope that no long overdue Animal Welfare Bill is passed for efficient action against cruelty to animals.