EXCLUSIVE: Experts reveal why animal abuse cases are on a high

You are scrolling through your social media site and you accidentally stumbled upon a video of a man tickling a stingray. The fish in return smiles and laughs, as per what the video suggests. You found it cute and thoroughly enjoyed it. You went a step ahead and love react on the video and the next moment your feed is full of such videos which according to you are cute.

But did you give it a thought that why a fish that is bound to be underwater, of course, laughs when you pull it out. Will it not choke? Sadly, while some are empathetic enough to understand the facts, others merely enjoy such videos which show nothing, but animal abuse, at least according to experts.

And if you are some of the few that are left wondering if the stingray wasn’t laughing, what was happening to it? Experts say that unlike other fishes, stingrays suck water through their spiral openings and exhale through their gills. Hence, the video that showed a stingray laughing was actually suffocating to death.

This is not a lone example, there are many such videos that do rounds on the Internet and go viral in no time. But why do some people humanize animals? Pulkit Sharma, a clinical psychologist, analyzes.

“The human tendency to give animals, or for that matter any other living thing, a human characteristic is natural. You tend to resonate with it, understand its emotions and then give a name to the feeling. However, if done for the good, like most pet owners do, there’s nothing wrong in it. But when we try to overdo it and forget the difference, it is not a good practice,” says Sharma.

(Trigger Warning)

Humanising animals isn’t the only thing that some people do. There are some ugly minds too who don’t even hesitate in torturing innocent beings to the extent that they die. Take for example, the video of three youth from Kerala who bludgeoned a Labrador to death on a beach after tying it to a boat with a fish hook pierced in its chest. Such incidents not only send shivers down our spine, but also make us question, how low can some people stoop to, and also what makes them take to such evil crimes.

“Most of the time, it is out of frustration. Humans are always on the look out for soft and easy targets, who can’t fight back. For these people, animals top the list. They vent their frustration out on animals. What frustration, you ask? It can be anything related to an incident that happened to them in their childhood, or a time when they couldn’t fight back themselves. All these incidents add up in their lives and lead them to such heinous crimes. While at other times, some also do it out of personal enmity. If they can’t take their anger out on a person they hate, they usually take it out on pets. Again, it is cowardly, easier to do and gives them the much-needed disgusting relief,” Sharma tells you.

Not only this, but some also do it for pleasure. “These are sadists. They get a certain kind of pleasure by torturing animals. They might think that they can do away with such a crime without being caught. However, crime is a crime and you can’t run away from having to bear its consequences,” opines Sharma.

Another video which isn’t so horrific like the aforementioned cases, but again is disturbing is of a boy resting on the floor with an ear phone plugged in his ear and the other half of it placed near a cockroach lying upside down next to him, with a caption that says: “Just me chilling with my roomie at 3 am”.

While killing certain insects who are known for spreading diseases and infections is what science suggests, this doesn’t mean one has to post such videos and photos with an insect or animal who is suffering.

“This can be an example of people torturing animals out of boredom. We have seen children chasing dogs and their puppies out of the society and throwing stones on them for no good reason. It is nothing but due to lack of empathy in humans,” asserts Sharma.

Pooja Sareen, Advocate, Women and Animals Rights Activist, tells you that from olden times, we have been exploiting animals for various benefits, but what has increased manifold recently is sexual offences with animals. “Rape of animals by humans. We could term it as unnatural sex. Which is pretty much expected from human beings, when they don't dread to rape small babies, why and how does it comes as a shock when they rape animals. Rape of a bitch is the most common rape these days, after human rape, of course. Reasons are, frustration outburst, feeling of dejection, remorsefulness,” Sareen tells you.

If we try to find out as to why such cruel behaviour towards animals, answers could be many. “Inflicting own suffering onto another animal, so as to feel free. At times, people who get dominated in their actual life, cause harm or suffering and pain to animals to attain the sense of achievement, some kill animals for entertainment, some would injure animals to attain happiness, as to avenge the revenge on society. This is defined as zoosadism,” says Sareen.

India has seen increasing cases of animal cruelty, says Sareen. “In March 2021, CCTV footage showed a man molesting a dog in Mumbai. The financial capital of the country reported 8 cases of animal abuse every day. A monkey was hung and beaten to death in Telangana; a street dog was beaten, tied to a scooter and then thrown off the second floor of a building in Ludhiana, nursing students poisoned 16 puppies in Kolkata, the death of a pregnant elephant after consuming a fruit laced with a firecracker and the recent death of a tiger cub after a motorcycle ran over it, and the list goes on,” Sareen points out.

The Indian Constitution, however, guarantees several laws for the protection of the four-legged voiceless creatures. “Indian Penal Code (IPC), Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Slaughterhouse) Rules 2001, Wildlife Protection Act 1972 and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act are to name a few. On March 25, 2021, The Indian Express reported that the Union Government had 'proposed' an amendment to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960 to raise the penalties of animal cruelty from a mere Rs 50 to Rs 75,000, or "three times the cost of the animal" besides 5-year imprisonment. The National Crime Record Bureau prepares an annual report on the number of crimes in the country. Unfortunately, the bureau is not responsible for maintaining a database on the crimes inflicted on animals,” says Sareen.

DISCLAIMER: If you know someone who is supporting animal assault or abuse, please reach out to your nearest animal shelters and NGOs or animal protection organisations.

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