New Delhi: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), India has offered a reward of up to Rs 50,000 to anyone who can provide information about a person whose footage of harassing a dog and then getting hit by a cow has gone viral.
In the video shared on Twitter by Bhubaneswar-based Susanta Nanda of the Indian Forest Service, a man is seen cruelly picking up a dog by both ears and pressing both sides of the animal’s skull. The woeful dog can be seen yelping in pain with background voices of people seemingly doing nothing to stop the abusive man. Just then, a cow can be seen rushing in and pushing the abuser to the ground allowing the dog to escape.
PETA India said it needs information about the abusive man so that it can lead to a case, his arrest and conviction.
“Anyone with information about the identity of the abuser is urged to contact PETA India’s animal emergency helpline on (0) 9820122602 or e-mail Info@petaindia.org. The informer’s identity will be kept confidential upon request,” PETA India said in a release.
“We’re calling on anyone with information to come forward immediately to help dogs and humans because, as psychologists warn, violent people often move from abusing animals to targeting humans,” PETA India Emergency Response Team Associate Manager, Meet Ashar said.
“This hero cow reminds us never to be silent spectators to abuse. If you see an animal being abused, try to stop the cruel act and call the police immediately,” she added.
PETA India – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way” – notes that acts of cruelty to animals indicate a deep mental disturbance. Research in psychology and criminology shows that people who abuse animals often don’t stop there, many move on to hurting humans. In a study of domestic violence victims, 60 per cent of women said their abusive partners had harmed or killed their dogs or other animals, the release said.