Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Animal Husbandry practices and procedures) Rules, 2020

Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Animal Husbandry practices and procedures) Rules, 2020.

MINISTRY OF FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING

New Delhi, the 6th January, 2021

G.S.R. 12(E).—Whereas the following draft of certain rules which the Central Government proposes to make, in exercise of the powers conferred under section 38, read with sub-section (3) of section 11 and section 13 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 (59 of 1960) is hereby published for information of all persons likely to be affected thereby and notice is hereby given that the said draft rules shall be taken consideration after the expiry of a period of sixty days from the date on which the copies of Gazette of India containing this rules are made available to the public;

Objections or suggestions, if any, may be forwarded to the Joint Commissioner (Animal Welfare), Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi 110001;

DRAFT RULES

1. Short title, extent and commencement. — 

(1) These rules may be called the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Animal Husbandry practices and procedures) Rules, 2020.

(2) They shall come into force on the date of their final publication in the Official Gazette.

2. Definitions. — (1) In these rules unless the context otherwise requires,-

(a) “Act” means the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 (59 of 1960);

(b) analgesic‖ means such drugs that selectively relieve pain by acting on the central nervous system or on peripheral pain mechanisms, mostly not removing the sensations of touch, pressure or tension or stretching; meaning such animal may still feel discomfort and the term analgesia shall be construed accordingly;

(c) barbiturate‖  means  a  scheduled  drug  which  acts  on  the  central  nervous  system  and  produces  general anaesthesia;

(d) blind folding‖ means a method of reducing reactivity by covering the eyes with a cloth, bandage, or the like used for improving the welfare of a cattle by reducing levels of fear through elimination of the human proximity and handler visibility;

(e) Calf” means a bovine animal under the age of six months;

(f) Council” means the Veterinary Council of India established under the Indian Veterinary Council Act, 1984 (52 of 1984);

(g) dehorning‖ means removal of the horn of an animal;

(h) disbudding‖ means the destruction of horn producing cells on the horn bud of an animal;

(i) euthanasia‖ means a „good death‟ which emphasizes that an animal should be unconscious without pain or suffering prior to the cessation of vital signs, including cardiac and respiratory arrest and, ultimately, the loss of brain function;

(j) face halter‖ means a strap or rope used to handle and control animals which fits behind the ears or behind the poll and around the muzzle;

(k) general anaesthetic‖ means such drugs when administered systemically causes reversible loss of all sensation including pain, touch, pressure and tension, loss of consciousness, causes immobility and muscle relaxation and abolition of reflexes and the term general anaesthesia shall be construed accordingly;

(l) Halsted’s principles‖ means the basic principles of surgical technique and includes gentle handling of tissue; meticulous stoppage of bleedings, preservation of blood supply, strict asepsis, minimum tension on tissues, accurate tissue apposition and obliteration of dead spaces;

(m) intravenous‖ means injection or infusion of liquid drugs directly into the vein;

(n) local anaesthetic‖ means any such drugs which upon topical application or local injection cause reversible loss of sensory perception, especially of pain in a restricted area of the body and the term local anaesthesia shall be construed accordingly;

(o) minor veterinary services‖ means the rendering of preliminary veterinary aid, like, vaccination, castration, and dressing of wounds, and such other types of preliminary aid or the treatment of such ailments as are notified by the State Government, by a person holding a diploma or certificate of veterinary supervisor, stockman or stock assistant under the supervision and direction of a Registered Veterinary Practitioner, as provided in section 30 of the Indian Veterinary Council Act, 1984 (52 of 1984);

(p) “owner” means the owner of an animal and includes any other person in possession or custody of such animal whether with or without the consent of the owner;

(q) polled cattle‖ means an animal of a normally horned breed or species that does not grow horns due to selective breeding;

(r) pre-emptive analgesia‖ means a treatment that is initiated before a painful procedure in order to prevent the establishment of central sensitization during the procedure and in the early postoperative period;

(s) prescribed manner‖ means a mandatory course of action or steps that need to be followed in a procedure and to be undertaken by a veterinarian or done under his supervision as provided in these rules;

(t) “prohibited practices” means practices that are harmful to animals and that cause unnecessary pain or suffering to animals or practices carried out in violation of these rules;

(u) sedative‖ means any such drugs which upon systemic administration results in calming the animal, makes the animal less sensitive to external stimuli such as noise, and reduce fear in unfamiliar situations, but have little or no analgesic effect and the term „sedation‟ shall be construed accordingly;

(v) “State Board” means the State Animal Welfare Board;

(w) “State Veterinary Council” means a Veterinary Council established under section 32, and includes a Joint State Veterinary Council established in accordance with an agreement under section 33 of the Indian Veterinary Council Act, 1984 (52 of 1984);

(x) “Veterinary Inspector” means a Registered Veterinary Practitioner appointed by the Animal Welfare Board of India, or the State Animal Welfare Board, or the Veterinary Council of India, or State Veterinary Council or State Animal Husbandry Departments;

(y) “Registered Veterinary Practitioner” means a person whose name is, for the time being, duly registered in a

register of any State Veterinary Council established under the Indian Veterinary Council Act, 1984 (52 of 1984);

3. Animal husbandry procedures.- The Animal husbandry procedure includes any of the following procedure, namely:-

• (i) castration;
• (ii) dehorning or disbudding;
• (iii) branding and;
• (iv) nose-roping.

4. Prescribed manner for castration: – 

(1) castration of an animal shall be performed at such early age as possible using anaesthesia or analgesia under the recommendation or supervision of a veterinarian and where practical, animal shall be castrated before the age of three months, or at the first available handling opportunity beyond this age using the method available that causes least pain or suffering to the animal.

(2) Castration of an animal shall be done in the following manner, namely:-

(a) animal shall be blind folded and humanely handled before and during the procedure;

(b) general and local anesthetics shall be given to animals prior to castration, irrespective of the method used;

(c) during anesthesia, animal shall be placed on a soft ground on lateral recumbency with head elevated;

(d) castration through surgical method shall ensure Halsted‟s principles and castration  through physical method using Burdizzo clamp to ensure strict asepsis;

(e) post-procedural analgesics shall be given to animals under the recommendation or supervision of a veterinarian

5. Prescribed manner for dehorning and disbudding: – Dehorning and disbudding of an animal shall be done in the following manner, namely:-

(a) animal shall be blind folded and humanely handled before and during the procedure;

(b) administration  of  sedatives,  analgesics  and  local  anesthesia  shall  be  provided  to  animals  under recommendation and supervision of a registered veterinarian;

(c) post-procedural analgesics shall be given to animals under the recommendation and supervision of a registered veterinarian;

(d) wherever selection and breeding of polled (naturally hornless) cattle is only preferred, in that case dehorning and disbudding shall be discontinued as a policy.

6. Prescribed manner for branding.- Branding of an animal shall be done in the following manner, namely:-

(a) alternative identification methods such as ear-tagging, tattooing, freeze branding(cold branding) and use of radio frequency identification devices shall be preferred for identification of an animal;

(b) hot branding shall only be carried on dead tissues such as hoof in the case of horses or horn in the case of cattle;

(c) the depth of branding shall not exceed the 3/4 of the thickness of the dead tissue of horn or hoof;

(d) animal shall be blind folded and humanely handled before and during the procedure;

(e) sedatives and pre-emptive analgesics shall be administered to animals under the recommendation or supervision of a registered veterinarian.

7. Prescribed manner for nose-roping.- Nose-roping of an animal shall be done in the following manner, namely:-

(a) use of face halter, blind folding, including offering treats such as molasses, groundnut cake and green grass, as well as verbal and physical cues such as calmly talking to and gently stroking, shall be performed for ease of handling and restraining of animal at the time of nose piercing to divert the attention of animal;

(b) sedative and pre-emptive analgesics shall be given before piercing the nasal septum;

(c) a sterile instrument for piercing the nasal septum shall be used under the recommendation and supervision of a registered veterinarian;

(d) ropes made of natural fibre and smooth or non-abrasive material shall be used for nose-roping;

(e) post-procedural analgesics shall be administered to animals under the recommendation or supervision of a veterinarian.

 8. Prescribed  manner for  Euthanasia of animals.- (1) Euthanasia of an animal  shall  be carried under the following circumstances, namely:-

(a) when the Central Government or the State Government who finds any animal which is so diseased that, it can spread the disease, in order to control such disease;

(b) if the veterinary officer certifies that the animal is mortally injured or so severely injured or in such a physical condition that it, would be cruel to keep it alive.

(2) „The euthanasia shall be performed with the consent of the owner of the animals or custodian of the animals in writing.

(3) The euthanasia shall be performed in a method where minimum handling and movement of animal is required and by following any of the procedure laid down by the World Animal Health Organization or Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals for humane killing of animal under the supervision of a registered veterinarian;

(4) Euthanasia shall be done in the following manner, namely:-

(a) animal shall be blindfolded, the handling and control of animal shall be humane, aimed at minimising fear, pain and distress;

(b) animals to be euthanized shall be given sedative if found to be anxious or in a state of fear or if there are concerns over the safety of the animal or the handler under the supervision of a veterinarian;

(c) no animal shall be euthanized in the presence of another live animal.

9. Prohibited practices that are cruel and harmful. – The following activities shall be considered as cruel activities for the purposes of these rules, namely:-

(a) inserting more than one rope through nose;

(b) use of unnatural, abrasive or sharp materials such as nylon, plastic and others for nose roping;

(c) elastration (banding the body part using rubber rings; on scrotum for castration and on tail for docking) in adult cattle;

(d) induced cryptorchidism (to prevent descend of testicles);

(e) Minor veterinary services carried out without the supervision and direction of a Registered Veterinary Practitioner;

(f) any other invasive veterinary procedure which are not listed under these rules and are carried out without anesthesia by someone other than a Registered Veterinary Practitioner;

10. Penalty for Contravention of rules. – Contravention of any of the provisions of these rules shall be a punishable offence and shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of sections 11, 12 and 13 of the Act.