Siddharth
Malhotra
WRITES
letter
to
PM
Narendra
Modi
for
Animal
Protection
|FilmiBeat
People
for
the
Ethical
Treatment
of
Animals
(PETA)
today
claimed
that
Bollywood
actor
Sidharth
Malhotrahas
written
to
Prime
Minister
Narendra
Modi
on
its
behalf,
requesting
"stronger
penalties"
for
people
who
commit
acts
of
cruelty
to
animals.
According
to
PETA,
Malhotra
in
his
letter
to
the
prime
minister
pointed
out
that
the
Prevention
of
Cruelty
to
Animals
Act,
1960,
contains
"outdated
penalties",
such
as
a
maximum
fine
of
Rs
50
for
convicted
first
offenders
who
abuse
an
animal,
which
he
calls
"barely
equivalent
to
a
slap
on
the
wrist".
"As
a
result,
the
newspapers
are
filled
with
reports
of
disturbing
and
egregious
animal
abuse
in
our
country...including
incidents
in
which
dogs
were
poisoned,
cows
were
burned
with
acid,
and
cats
were
beaten
to
death.
This
does
significant
damage
to
our
reputation
as
a
nation
that
respects
animals,"
the
PETAquoted
the
actor
as
saying
in
the
letter.
In
a
statement,
it
also
said
Malhotra
also
goes
on
to
note
that
psychologists,
sociologists,
and
law-enforcement
officials
have
all
documented
that
children
who
hurt
animals
often
end
up
hurting
other
humans.
"If
those
guilty
of
cruelty
to
animals
received
jail
time
and
significant
fines
as
well
as
counselling
and
a
ban
on
contact
with
animals
it
would
help
ensure
that
our
duty
under
Article
51A(g)
of
the
Constitution
of
India
to
show
animals
compassion
is
better
upheld
and
respected
and
that
society
at
large
is
protected
from
violent
behaviour,"
the
actor
said.
It
stated
that
Malhotra
previously
starred
in
a
campaign
for
PETA
India
whose
motto
reads,
in
part,
that
"animals
are
not
ours
to
abuse
in
any
way"
promoting
the
sterilisation
of
dogs
and
cats.
He,
PETA
said,
joins
a
line-up
of
stars
who
have
called
for
strengthened
animal-protection
laws,
including
John
Abraham,
Jacqueline
Fernandez,
Arjun
Kapoor,
Sonakshi
Sinha,
Raveena
Tandon
Thadani,
Kiran
Bedi,
Virat
Kohli,
Shikhar
Dhawan,
and
Ajinkya
Rahane.