Animal welfare board to conduct awareness campaign on cruelties against animals

Kolkata: The state animal welfare board is planning to conduct awareness programmes on cruelties against animals. It will conduct campaigns in collaboration with the CSPCA, Asia's second animal hospital, to spread awareness on cruelties against animals. The CSPCA, situated on B B Ganguly Street, has been instrumental in organising the convention as the nodal agency of the department.

The main purpose of the programme is to make people from various walks of life and school students aware about the cruelties against animals which often take place on the city's streets, as well as the districts.

It has been learnt that the Animal Resources department may urge the Centre to formulate a policy to set up an "Animal Rights Commission," so that animal related issues could be addressed in a better way.

According to a senior official of the animal welfare board, the main purpose behind forming an animal rights commission is to check the incidents of cruelties on animals, which are often reported from various corners of the state. In most of the cases, steps cannot be taken by the police, who are already overburdened with various cases.

The perpetrators often walk away free after beating up or inflicting pain on animals, pets or street dogs. It has been learnt that there are plans to organise the event in the city in April 2019, the venue of which is yet to be fixed. It would see a huge participation by people from various parts from the country, where the policy for setting up the animal rights commission can be formulated, so that stringent action can be taken against the guilty.

There will be a more stringent mechanism to prosecute those who inflict injuries on street dogs and other animals. This will only be made possible once the animal rights commission is set up.