After several reports of violence against stray animals especially dogs from Mumbai and across the country, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is all set to feed stray animals. Taking inspiration from Indore's civic authorities, BMC will install food boxes across the city in several roads for stray animals to consume food.
Recently, Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar stated that stray animals consume plastic or food from garbage heaps which proves to a toll on their health and sometimes can be fatal too as they consume disposed chemicals. In order to pay attention to the stray animals of the city which includes dogs, cats, cows and buffaloes, BMC has come up with this initiative.
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Notably, in September 2019, animal activists group like 'Aaj ki Aawaz' staged a silent protest at Yari Road in Versova wherein they were dressed as animals. They demanded stringent action with regards to 'Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' law. Currently, according to the 'Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act' which was passed in 1960, if a person commits any act of cruelty against animals for the first time will have to pay the penalty between ₹10 and ₹50. For the second time if the crime is committed within a span of 3 years then the penalty will be anywhere between ₹25 and ₹100 with an imprisonment of 3 months.
If a person kills an animal and can get away with it at ₹10 then what's the point of the law? Therefore several animal activists and non-profit groups believe that the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals law should be amended and there should be more stringent action towards the perpetrator.
Talking about the same, animal activist Yash Jain stated,
It's a good thing that BMC is considering to keep food boxes for stray animals, however, its the implementation that counts. It shouldn't be another 'Good Policy, Bad Implementation' move of the civic authorities. Moreover, there are many more grave problems to be solved when it comes to our 'free roaming pets' (as I would like to call them) like access to clean water along with food, neutering them at the right time, better facilities, hygiene and infrastructure at government veterinary hospitals like Gandhi Hospital in Parel, providing them with basic shelter on the roads especially during winters and a lot more.
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