[20th
March 2023] Whereas the draft of
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Animal Husbandry Practices and Procedures)
Rules, 2021 were published as required under the sub-section (l) of section 38
of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 (59 of 1960) , vide Ministry
of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying notification number G.S.R 12(E)
dated 6th January, 2021 and whereas objections and suggestions from all persons
likely to be affected thereby were invited before the expiry of sixty days from
the date on which the copies of gazette containing the said notification have
been made available to the public; And whereas copies of the
said Gazette were made available to the public on 8th January, 2021; And whereas the objections
or suggestions received from the public have been incorporated in the rules. Now, therefore, in the
exercise of the power conferred by the section 38 read with section (3) and
Section 11(3) (a) and (c)of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 (59
of 1960) and in pursuance of order issued by the Hon'ble High Court of Delhi,
Writ Petition (Civil) 5266/2020 & CM Appeals no. 18967/2020, 22670/2020 and
31358/2020 dated 22nd November, 2022, the Central Government hereby makes the
following rules, namely:- (1)
These rules may be called the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals (Animal Husbandry Practices and Procedures) Rules, 2023. (2)
They shall come into force on the date of
their final publication in the Official Gazette. (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" meansa method of
reducing reactivity by covering the eyes with a cloth, bandage,or the likeused for
improving the welfare of an animal by reducinglevels of fear and distress
through the 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" meansremoval of the
horn of an animal; (h)
"disbudding" means the destruction
of horn producing cells on the hornbud of an animal; (i)
"euthanasia" means a good death
which emphasizes that an animal should be unconsciousand insensitive to pain,
distress and sufferingprior to the cessation of vital signs, including cardiac
and respiratory arrest 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 the abolition of reflexes and the term
general anaesthesia shall be construed accordingly; (l)
"Halsteds principles" means the
basic principles of surgical technique and include 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 ofwounds, and such other types of preliminary aid or the treatment of
such ailments asare 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 do 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 reduces fear in
unfamiliar situations, but haslittle 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); (1)
The procedure of dehorning of cattle, and of
the castration or branding or nose roping of any animal shall be done only by a
registered veterinary practitioner: Provided that under section
30 of the Indian Veterinary Council Act, 1984, the State Government shall
notify for persons holding a diploma or certificate of veterinary supervisor,
stockmen or stock assistant for performing a minor veterinary procedure under
the close supervision or direction of a registered veterinary practitioner. (2)
The following is the procedure in respect of
Animal Husbandry, namely:- (i)
castration; (ii)
dehorning or disbudding; (iii)
branding; and (iv)
nose-roping. (1)
The castration of an animal shall be
performed at early age as possible using anaesthesia and analgesia under the
recommendation or supervision of a registered veterinary practitionerand where
practical, the animal shall be castrated before the optimal age, i.e. in case
of bovine animals three to six months, sheep and goat eight to twelve weeks of
age (preferably older than three months), equine six to twelve months, piglet
four to fourteen days and dog six to nine months of age, or at the first
available handling opportunity beyond this age using the method available that
causes least pain or suffering to the animal. (2)
the castration of an animal shall be done in
the following manner, namely:- (a)
the animal shall be blind folded and humanely
handled before and during the procedure; (b)
general and local anaesthetics shall be given
to animals prior to castration, irrespective of the method used; (c)
during anaesthesia, animal shall be placed on
a soft ground on lateral recumbency with the head elevated; (d)
castration through surgical method shall
ensure Halsteds principles and castration through physical method using
Burdizzo clamp to ensure strict asepsis; and (e)
post-procedural analgesics shall be given to
animals under the recommendation or close supervision of a registered
veterinary practitioner. (a)
the animal shall be blind folded and humanely
handled before and during the procedure; (b)
administration of sedatives, analgesics and
local anaesthesia shall be provided to animals under the recommendation and
supervision of a registered veterinary practitioner.; (c)
post-procedural analgesics shall be given to
animals under the recommendation and close supervision of a registered
veterinary practitioner.; (d)
wherever selection and breeding of polled
(naturally hornless) cattle is preferred as a policy, dehorning and disbudding
shall be discouraged; and (e)
"the animal shall be given
post-operative care to provide sterile wound healing conditions." (a)
alternative identification methods such as
ear-tagging, ear-notching, tattooing and use of radio frequency identification
devices shall be preferred for the 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 third
or fourth of the thickness of the dead tissue of the horn or hoof; (d)
the 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
veterinary practitioner; and (f)
post-procedural analgesics shall be
administered to animals under the recommendation or close supervision of a
registered veterinary practitioner. (a)
Nose roping of an animal shall be permissible
only as a last resort after exhausting methods to handle and restrain the
animal by the use of face halter, blind folding, and by adopting humane behavioral
methods 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 the 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
veterinary practitioner; (d)
ropes made of natural fibre and smooth or
non-abrasive material shall be used for nose-roping; and (e)
post-procedural analgesics shall be
administered to the animal under the recommendation or close supervision of a
veterinary practitioner. (1)
The Euthanasia of an animal shall be carried
out 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; and (b)
if the registered veterinary practitioner
certifies that the animal is mortally injured or so severely injured or in such
a physical condition that it, shall 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 the animal is required and by following
any of the procedures laid down by the World Animal Health Organisation or by
the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on
Animals for humane killing of an animal under the supervision of a registered
veterinary practitioner; (4)
Euthanasia shall be done in the following
manner, namely:- (a)
the animal shall be blindfolded, the handling
and control of animal shall be humane, aimed at minimising fear, pain and
distress; (b)
animals to be euthanised 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 euthanised in the presence
of another live animal; (d)
the animal shall be given an overdose of
anaesthetic to cause rapid anaesthesia and irreversible unconsciousness, and followed
by respiratory depression, hypoxia and cardiac arrest; and (e)
The registered veterinary practitioner shall
not leave the premises until it is certain that the animal is dead. (a)
inserting more than one rope through the
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; onthe 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 anaesthesia by
someone other than a Registered Veterinary Practitioner; and (g)
Freeze branding (cold branding) and hot
branding on live tissues.Prevention
Of Cruelty To Animals (Animal Husbandry Practices And Procedures) Rules, 2023
The dehorning and disbudding of an animal shall be done in the following
manner, namely:-
The branding of an animal shall be done in the following manner, namely:-
The nose roping shall be done in the following manner, namely;-
The following activities shall be considered as cruel activities for the
purposes of these rules, namely:-
Contravention of any of the provisions of these rules shall be punishable
offence and shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of sections 11,
12 and 13 of the Act.