I n the animal rights movement largely led by NGOs, lawyers and independent activists, there is one category of people whose role is often not highlighted enough: they are the bystanders, the witnesses!
Common people like you and me who hold the power to bring one incident to light, and in turn, stop countless of those from happening ever again. Bystanders who reported or intervened with an incident of animal abuse deterred several such incidents from repeating, and that is no small win. But they do not have numeric figures to attach to their success, because who knows how many crimes exactly were prevented from repeating or how many animals exactly are still alive because this one person decided to stand up for an animal at some point? Despite the lack of quantifiable display of results, bystanders turn defenders, show up every other day and continue to weave the invisible threads of deterrence. Because, their love for animals and their quest for justice is not conditional upon numeric success metrics; and even a single stray cat is worth fighting for. But that does not mean their efforts can be left unspoken of. In this article, we are going to show you the mammoth potential of a bystander to save animals- not with numbers but with stories. And, we are going to tell you how to be an empowered bystander and create your own footprints in the realms of justice.
In October 2022, Lakshmi, a daily-wages worker from Saibaba Colony in Coimbatore got a drunkard arrested for killing a stray dog. She had scourged through the city corporation’s garbage grounds and rescued the body of the murdered stray, presented it to the police, endured two days and a night at the station and relentlessly stood her ground until an FIR was registered. Throughout the course of this issue, multiple police personnel were visiting the crime spot, and people were being interrogated, all of which finally culminated in the neighborhood witnessing the arrest of the criminal. Though he is currently on bail pending court trial, it has taught an important lesson to the locality- Strays have rights too, and harming one will not go unnoticed. Animals do not have voices but humans who do will stand up for them and will not let criminals get away with their actions. When compassion and humanity are absent, fear of repercussions is what deters a potential criminal. Lakshmi stands as an agent of such deterrence today.
Earlier in August 2022, when few contract workers of Kumaraguru College of Technology mercilessly beat a dog to death, a student witness had managed to capture it on his phone and send the video to Humane Animal Society. Being a vulnerable member from the student community, this bystander wanted to stay anonymous. Nevertheless, he had initiated a chain of reactions ranging from HAS filing a case at the Saravanampatti police station to the Chief Minister’s office taking notice and ordering immediate arrests of the accused. Several thousands of people expressed outrage on social media over the incident. The official Twitter handle of the office of the Commissioner of Police (Coimbatore) put up a video wherein the Commissioner declared the arrests of the criminals and warned the common public about the legal consequences of harming an animal. That was a first for Coimbatore. And while praises poured in through our DMs, we felt humbled by the fact that one student bystander had helped us bend the destiny of thousands of animals in Coimbatore. Together, we had laid the first stepping stone to break the normalization of animal abuse.
The stories go on. But bystander-action is also much more than reporting crimes. As an empowered bystander, you can also educate, sensitize, and promote a culture of wellness and safety for animals. Here is a brief guide to how you can save countless animal lives.
1. Prevention
Prevention strategies can begin with a simple shift in attitude to be more vocal about your love for animals and wearing awareness on your sleeves. If your compassion for the voiceless can ignite compassion in even one another person, it is still a good number. Talk to your children about embracing the companionship of animals as they grow up, teach them that the world belongs to animals as much as it does to them, talk to your institution about maintaining a safe space for animals, sensitize the sanitary workers in your apartment/campus for you might be their only resource to gaining awareness, and most importantly, trace down the root causes of human-animal conflicts when they present themselves around you. For example, responsible feeding is a huge key to mitigate most instances of human-animal conflicts that prevail today. We should spread understanding about the fact that irresponsible feeding not only disrupts the survival skills of the strays but also promotes territorial behaviour that can pave way for both animal-animal and human-animal conflicts. In addition to the said prevention strategies, it is also necessary to parallelly work towards creating awareness about the legal consequences of harming animals. All in all, most prevention strategies boil down to educating ourselves in the first place in order to be able to make others more aware. Education is a powerful tool to facilitate social justice. Stay educated by constantly attending animal-welfare seminars, participating in animal clubs, volunteering, and staying in touch with the news and legal updates!
2. Intervention
When you sense situations that present dangers to animals, assess the environment. Mobilize friends or fellow by-standers and confront the offender(s) as a group. Collective confrontation is safer and more effective. In situations that are tense and susceptible to turning into commotion, remain calm and stick to facts. It is always helpful to have the 3Ds in mind:
- Direct action (confronting, calling out harmful behaviour)
- Distract the perpetrator
- Delegate (if you are not able to intervene, get the help of someone who can)
When offences happen within campuses (academic, residential, work-related, etc.), quickly escalate the matter to higher authorities and inform them of legal repercussions that follow animal-abuse. When offences take place in such institutionalized settings, the highest authority in-charge becomes vicariously liable for the crimes committed by those under his line of control, i.e., if the workers in a campus premise beat an animal and the employer is not the one directly doing the act, the latter will still be held vicariously liable for the offences committed by the former. Hence, in such cases, escalation to higher authorities is key to intervening with immediate effect. However, irrespective of the environment, a simple act of saying, “stop” can turn you from a bystander to a protector.
3. Reporting
Killing an animal, hitting an animal, torturing an animal, pet owners abandoning their pets, pet shops keeping pets in inhumane conditions, apartment associations harassing dog owners, and so many more actions constitute offences in law. When the occurrence of an offence comes to your knowledge, here is how you can report it and instigate police action:
- Digital evidence is of paramount importance. Click pictures of the scene, take the GPS location, and collect as much detail as you can about the accused.
- If the harmed animal is alive, facilitate immediate medical attention and treatment. If the animal is murdered, preserve the body of the animal until it is handed over to the police- this is inevitable to frame a case of animal-killing.
- Find the nearest police station. Narrate the incident to the station in-charge and hand over a written complaint without fail. Make sure to get a CSR copy for all animal-related offences and in case of an animal’s murder, you have the right to receive an FIR as well. Press for an FIR and if the police refuse, utilize escalation methods and approach the Commissioner of Police if the offence has happened within city limits (or) the Superintendent of Police if the offence has happened within district limits.
- Make sure that in the case of an animal-killing, post-mortem procedures are met with.
- For other offences of animal cruelty (such as hitting, running illegal pet shops, etc.), an FIR cannot be registered by the police directly. The permission of the magistrate is required. Henceforth, in such cases, receive a CSR copy and regularly follow-up with the police to have your case forwarded to the magistrate and have their permission obtained. Once the magistrate grants permission to file FIR, the police is duty-bound to do so.
When you are met with confusions/lack of certainty in any of these areas, you are most welcome to seek the help of HAS. Remember: A loud, powerful voice can do so much to alter the cruel realities our animals are currently living in! Our animals depend on you!