Birds: India
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Caging birds and the law
The Times of India, Nov 21 2015
Birds have fundamental right to free sky, HC had ruled
Does caging birds amount to violation of their fundamental right to fly? The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to take up an issue that evokes the theme of author Richard Bach's top selling fable `Jonathan Livingston Sea gull' about a young gull who broke from the humdrum of feeding and nesting to fully explore his love of flight. A bench of Chief Justice H L Dattu and Justices Shiva Kirti Singh and Amitava Roy agreed to examine the validity of a Gujarat high court order holding that birds have a fundamental right to fly free ly in the sky and this must be respected by not caging them.
The order came in a case in which 494 birds were seized from hawkers. Their wings and tails were cut, sellotape stuck to what remained of the wings and rings were slipped into their legs to prevent them from flying away .
Challenging the HC order, Pet Lovers' Association, an NGO, told the Supreme Court that the order was illegal as it was contrary to provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and Wildlife Protection Act and that keeping birds in the house and trading in them was legal. The Gujarat HC had said keeping birds in cages would be tantamount to illegal confinement that violates the rights of birds to live in their natural environment, that is the free sky, and that it is the duty of every citizen to see that no unnecessary pain or suffering is caused to them.
While the letter and spirit of the law will be argued before the SC, the confinement of birds does not seem on a par with that of common household pets like dogs and cats. A cage, even a sizable one, is no substitute for what birds are used to and even those bred in captivity do not attempt to return once they escape from a cage, unlike dogs and cats.
Appearing for the NGO, senior advocate Salman Khurshid told the bench that the HC order was being misused by government authorities and NGOs in various states, causing pet traders to be targeted and restrained from carrying out their business. He said there were sufficient safeguards under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and the Wildlife Protection Act to protect the rights of animals and birds and prevent cruelty against them.
“Research has demonstrated that birds and animals can play a positive role in the improvement of health problems and can be psychologically comforting to human beings. Therefore, it becomes imperative to have a mecha nism in place for their proper treatment and custody ,“ the petition said.
“The order passed by the HC is liable to be set aside by this court for being contrary to the safeguards provided under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and the Wildlife Protection Act... There are no requirements for any kind of licence or permission to deal in or keep exotic birds,“ it added.
The petitioner claimed that it had made representations to state governments and even the Prime Minister seeking steps to “protect the interest of pet traders“. They alleged that animal rights NGOs, in connivance with police officials, had seized the traders' birds and animals and filed false cases against them.
The petitioner also pleaded for guidelines on the seizure of birds and animals.
The court, after a brief hearing, issued notice to Centre, state governments, Animal Welfare Board and animal rights NGOs People for Animals and Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care Centre.
The Delhi high court too, in May 2015, held that birds have fundamental rights, including the right to live with dignity, and cannot be subjected to cruelty . “I am clear that all the birds have fundamental rights to fly in the sky and no one has any right to keep them in small cages for the purposes of their business or otherwise,“ Justice Manmohan Singh had said in the order.
