From elephants to cows, 10 instances of animal cruelty that prove humanity is dead in India

On Monday, the video of a man throwing a dog into the Upper Lake in Madhya Pradesh went viral on social media. The incident raised a question on the apathetic approach of humans towards animals.

Key Highlights

• Abuse and assault of animals is criminalised by the Indian Constitution, despite this, several animals are exploited and tortured in India every day

• Over the years, cows have been raped, dogs have been murdered and wild animals have been poached in the country

New Delhi: A dog was thrown into a lake by a man, a cow raped by a man at a shelter, monitor lizard burnt alive by poacher- these incidents that took place in the country follow a recurring theme. A theme that makes itself visible with every time torture is meted out to animals is that of indifference. 

From being thrashed brutally by circus crews to being exploited for resources, animals in India have been subjected to torture for years. It must be noted that laws laid down in the Constitution of India have not been able to deter sadists from torturing animals. 

Over the last year, several instances of animal cruelty have been reported to the police. These instances hold testimony to the lack of apathy and humanity that is slowly overpowering humans. Here are 10 of the most gruesome incidents that took place in the country and exposed the misery of animals-

In September, a man threw a stray dog into the Upper Lake of Madhya Pradesh while another person filmed the incident. The man could be seen giggling while looking at the camera after he threw the canine into the water body. 

On August 19, another incident of animal brutality came to light from Kerala. In Malappuram, 5 men allegedly hunted a pregnant buffalo and killed it. Buffalo meat was also recovered from the house of one of the accused. 

On May 27, a pregnant elephant entered the Palakkad village of Kerala in search of food. Notorious villagers allegedly fed a pineapple stuffed with crackers to the elephant. The crackers exploded in the mouth of the jumbo and it died while standing in the Velliyar river. 

On July 22, a man was seen burning alive a kitten. The incident which left several people shocked surfaced from Hyderabad. In the video of the incident, the man could be seen setting the kitten ablaze with a lighter as it continued to cry in pain.

In the same month, a dog breeder ran over a dog with his four-wheeler in Kapurthala district of Punjab. Identified as Gurinder Singh, the man was accused of killing dogs when they stopped being of use to him. 

On July 8, a man was arrested for allegedly raping a cow at a dairy in Sundar Nagar, Madhya Pradesh. The obscene act performed by the man was recorded on the CCTV camera installed at the facility and the accused was arrested. 

A man from Hyderabad was caught raping a 9-month-old calf in March this year. An eye witness alleged that for several years, animals were being subjected to abused by humans and the concerned cow shelter had been informed about the incident but no concrete step was taken. 

A stray dog was allegedly poisoned and dumped outside a residential complex in Ghaziabad. The non-aggressive dog was allegedly murdered even as it used to play with children and was not a nuisance, an animal lover living in the area alleged. 

In June this year, a Jallikattu bull was allegedly murdered by three men who were under the influence of alcohol. The owner of the bull, who had been taking care of it for two years alleged that he found the bull lying lifeless in his field. The bull had suffered mouth injuries and its horns had been broken. 

A monkey was allegedly hanged to death from a tree in Telangana before a crowd in the month of June. Irked at the presence of monkeys in the area, the man allegedly hanged the monkey to teach a lesson to the other simians. As the man hanged the monkey to death, the other locals cheered for him. 

These instances and several others prove that there is a diminishing sense of humanity in the country and the same is leading to a swift rise in crimes against animals.

The views expressed by the author are personal and do not in any way represent those of Times Network.