Target: Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Adviser, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of Bangladesh
Goal: Strengthen Bangladesh’s animal cruelty laws so deliberately beating restrained animals to death can result in meaningful imprisonment and stronger penalties.
Two pet dogs were tied with ropes to an electric pole and beaten to death with wooden sticks. Video of the killings circulated widely online and showed the animals struggling during the attack. Court proceedings established that the incident occurred on July 23 in Auliapur Union. The dogs’ owner had reportedly raised them for nearly four years.
Manju Hawlader and Zahir Hawlader were prosecuted under Bangladesh’s Animal Welfare Act, 2019, and the Penal Code. On August 6, the court fined each man Tk 10,000. Each would serve 15 days of simple imprisonment only if the fine went unpaid. The prosecution lawyer stated that the court had imposed the maximum punishment prescribed for the offense under the Animal Welfare Act.
Because the case resulted in convictions, qualifiers are unnecessary when describing conduct established through the proceedings. When restrained animals can be deliberately beaten to death yet the maximum animal welfare punishment amounts to a modest fine, the law deserves reconsideration. Bangladesh should authorize penalties proportionate to intentional and fatal cruelty.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Adviser Hasan,
Two pet dogs were tied to an electric pole and beaten to death with wooden sticks in a killing captured on video. The case ultimately resulted in the prosecution and conviction of two men.
The court fined each offender Tk 10,000, with 15 days of simple imprisonment applicable only for failure to pay. According to the prosecution lawyer, this represented the maximum punishment available for the offense under the Animal Welfare Act.
Please support stronger statutory penalties for deliberate and fatal animal cruelty. Cases involving animals being restrained and intentionally beaten to death should permit meaningful imprisonment and penalties proportionate to such extreme violence. These dogs cannot be brought back, but their deaths can expose a serious weakness in existing protections and help secure stronger safeguards for other animals.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: Mcepy
