“We feel that this would be a fitting tribute to the hapless dog that succumbed to acts of human cruelty, and disturbed by which incident we had initiated these proceedings,” said the Kerala High Court on 2nd July 2020 in an attempt to provide justice and some closure to the good boy Bruno, now in good boy heaven where he rests.

The Kerala High Court changed the name of the case to In RE: BRUNO.

The Kerala High Court had registered a suo moto PIL to monitor state action in reported instances of cruelty to animals and for the matter of prevention of cruelty to animals. Notices were issued to the Centre, State, and Animal Welfare Board of India for the same.

 Justice Jayasankaran Nambiar wrote a letter to the CJI urging him to take cognizance of a news report of three minors perpetrating the inhuman killing of a dog on a beach in Thiruvananthapuram. A police case had already been registered in the matter.  The primary concern expressed in the letter was that the Indian legislation for the protection of animals was founded on the premise of superiority of the human species over all others.

The letter further elaborated on several occasions where the judiciary upheld the rights of the animals and stated that it was time to motivate the State to take hard and hitting measures for the welfare of animals.

The Court’s Order.

The Court directed the Kerala State Animal Welfare State to present a report regarding the action taken to date on the complaint received from the owner of the dog, Bruno to the High court.

The court urged the Director-General of Prosecution, to bestow his attention in the matter and to ensure that justice is provided to the owner of the dog, and book the perpetrators of the crime.

 The Animal Welfare Board of India was asked by the court to draw up a feasible action plan towards implementing an awareness campaign to educate and sensitize citizens on the rights of animals and the corresponding duties and obligations required by them.

“We believe that immediate steps in this regard are required to initiate a change in the attitude of our citizens to the welfare of animals so that gruesome incidents, such as those reported in the media in recent times, do not recur in future”, the court said.

The court also stated-

“Our sole endeavor will be to alert the State Executive to the circumstances in which, and the extent to which, it will be required to act in the discharge of its constitutional and statutory obligations. We believe that a meaningful effectuation of rights can be achieved only when the different branches of Government work in concert, and it is this cooperation that we expect in the course of these proceedings”.

The court also delved into the instances where people are prevented from keeping pets of their choice in their residential apartments or societies and asked of the government to look into the possibility of entrusting the District Administrations across the State, with the power to enquire into complaints of such kinds as these also lead to animal cruelty and infringement of animal rights.

The court also urged the government to explore the idea of holding and promoting animal adoption camps at least once every 3 years to encourage the citizens to adopt animals that wander off on the streets looking for shelter and food such as stray animals or those which have been abandoned by their owners.

Bruno can never come back.

Although the court brought out some much-needed and valid points but it’s not easy to prevent hatred against animals so easily. Just suppose how twisted the mentality of those three people would have been to kill a dog by beating it and then stick him up a fishing rod like it was their victory. Not to forget, there was a minor in the party.

It is deep rooted in the mentality of not only just the people in India but all over the world that no other living being is superior to humans, rightly as the court pointed out, yet it’s the animals that roam free according to their will and us humans trapped in the idea of superiority and luxury along with the social responsibilities that we forget that it’s us, actually, of what we should be afraid of.   

Aishwarya Says:

I have always been against Glorifying Over Work and therefore, in the year 2021, I have decided to launch this campaign “Balancing Life”and talk about this wrong practice, that we have been following since last few years. I will be talking to and interviewing around 1 lakh people in the coming 2021 and publish their interview regarding their opinion on glamourising Over Work.

If you are interested in participating in the same, do let me know.

Do follow me on Facebook, Twitter  Youtube and Instagram.

The copyright of this Article belongs exclusively to Ms. Aishwarya Sandeep. Reproduction of the same, without permission will amount to Copyright Infringement. Appropriate Legal Action under the Indian Laws will be taken.

If you would also like to contribute to my website, then do share your articles or poems at adv.aishwaryasandeep@gmail.com

We also have a Facebook Group Restarter Moms for Mothers or Women who would like to rejoin their careers post a career break or women who are enterpreneurs.