Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960
No: 59 Dated: Dec, 26 1960
THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS ACT, 1960
ACT NO. 59 OF 1960
An Act to prevent the infliction of unnecessary pain or suffering on animals and for that purpose to amend the law relating to the prevention of cruelty to animals.
BE it enacted by Parliament in the Eleventh Year of the Republic of India as follows:―
CHAPTER I
PRELIMINARY
1. Short title, extent and commencement.―(1) This Act may be called the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
(2) It extends to the whole of India.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint, and different dates2 may be appointed for different States and for the different provisions contained in this Act.
2. Definitions.―In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,―
(a) “animal” means any living creature other than a human being;
(b) “Board” means the Board established under section 4, and as reconstituted from time to time under section 5A;
(c) “captive animal” means any animal (not being a domestic animal) which is in captivity or confinement, whether permanent or temporary, or which is subjected to any appliance or contrivance for the purpose of hindering or preventing its escape from captivity or confinement or which is pinioned or which is or appears to be maimed;
(d) “domestic animal” means any animal which is tamed or which has been or is being sufficiently tamed to serve some purpose for the use of man or which, although it neither has been nor is being nor is intended to be so tamed, is or has become in fact wholly or partly tamed;
(e) “local authority” means a municipal committee, district board or other authority for the time being invested by law with the control and administration of any matters within a specified local area;
(f) “owner”, used with reference to an animal, includes not only the owner but also any other person for the time being in possession or custody of the animal, whether with or without the consent of the owner;
(g) “phooka” or “doom dev” includes any process of introducing air or any substance into the female organ of a milch animal with the object of drawing off from the animal any secretion of milk;
(h) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(i) “street” includes any way, road, lane, square, court, alley, passage or open space, whether a thoroughfare or not, to which the public have access.