Is abandoning a pet a crime in India?

Yes. Section 11(1)(i) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 makes it an offence to abandon an animal without reasonable cause where it is likely to suffer from starvation or thirst. The first-offence fine is Rs 10 to Rs 50 under the 1982 text.

What is the punishment for killing a dog in India?

Under section 325 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, killing, poisoning, maiming or rendering useless any animal is punishable with imprisonment of up to five years, or a fine, or both. AWBI's 2025 handbook lists it as a cognizable offence, so police must register an FIR.

Can the police refuse to register a complaint about animal cruelty?

For a cognizable offence, such as killing or maiming an animal under BNS section 325, AWBI's 2025 handbook says the police must register an FIR, at any station. Most section 11 offences are non-cognizable: the police enter them and refer them to the magistrate.

Is keeping a dog chained all day cruelty?

It can be. Section 11(1)(f) of the PCA Act covers keeping an animal chained for an unreasonable time on an unreasonably short or heavy chain, and section 11(1)(g) covers an owner who neglects to exercise a dog that is habitually chained or confined.

How do I complain to the Animal Welfare Board of India?

Lodge a cruelty complaint through the Cruelty section of AWBI's website, awbi.gov.in. AWBI's published case list shows it writes to authorities and parties citing sections 3 and 11 of the Act. For an urgent case, go to the police or district SPCA as well.

Is a pet sitter responsible under the cruelty law?

Yes, while the pet is in their care. The PCA Act defines owner to include any person in possession or custody of the animal, and section 3 puts the duty of care on every person having the care or charge of an animal.

Pet rules 9 min read

Animal cruelty law in India: the duty of care and how to report

Updated October 2026By PetymFacts checked against official sources on 21 October 2026

Quick answer

India's main animal welfare law is the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. Section 3 makes everyone in charge of an animal take reasonable care of it, and section 11 lists cruelty offences, including beating, starving, confining in a cramped cage and abandoning a pet. Killing or maiming an animal is a separate crime under BNS section 325.

Report cruelty to the police, who must register an FIR for a cognizable offence, or to your district SPCA or the Animal Welfare Board of India online. The Act's own fines are still the 1982 amounts (checked 21 October 2026).

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Which law protects pets from cruelty in India?

Cruelty law at a glance
What	The rule	Source
The Act	Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, as amended in 1982. AWBI's Acts page lists no later amendment (checked 21 October 2026).	Animal Welfare Board of India
Duty of care	Section 3: every person in charge of an animal must take reasonable measures for its well-being.	Animal Welfare Board of India
Who is an owner	Section 2(f): the owner and "any other person for the time being in possession or custody of the animal".	Animal Welfare Board of India
Section 11 penalty	First offence: fine of Rs 10 to Rs 50. Repeat within three years: Rs 25 to Rs 100, or up to three months' imprisonment, or both.	Animal Welfare Board of India
Killing or maiming	BNS section 325: imprisonment up to five years, or fine, or both. It replaced IPC sections 428 and 429.	National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs
Five freedoms	The Supreme Court (AWBI v. A. Nagaraja) read the five freedoms into sections 3 and 11.	Animal Welfare Board of India

What is the duty of care under the PCA Act?

One sentence in section 3 sets the duty for anyone looking after an animal, owner or not.

Word for word

It shall be the duty of every person having the care or charge of any animal to take all reasonable measures to ensure the well-being of such animal and to prevent the infliction upon such animal of unnecessary pain or suffering.

Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, section 3, Duties of persons having charge of animals (AWBI's copy, as amended in 1982) Animal Welfare Board of India

The Supreme Court, in Animal Welfare Board of India v. A. Nagaraja, declared that five freedoms be read into sections 3 and 11: freedom from hunger, thirst and malnutrition; from fear and distress; from physical and thermal discomfort; from pain, injury and disease; and to express normal patterns of behaviour. AWBI quotes the declaration in its 2022 guidelines.

What counts as cruelty to a pet under section 11?

Section 11(1) lists the offences. These are the clauses that most often concern a pet dog or cat, in the Act's own words where short.

11(1)(a) Beating and torture: Beating, kicking, torturing or otherwise treating an animal so as to cause it unnecessary pain or suffering. Animal Welfare Board of India
11(1)(c) Injurious substances: Wilfully and unreasonably giving an animal an injurious drug or substance. Animal Welfare Board of India
11(1)(e) Cramped cages: Keeping an animal in a cage that does not let it move reasonably in height, length and breadth. Animal Welfare Board of India
11(1)(f) Short or heavy chains: Keeping an animal chained for an unreasonable time on an unreasonably short or heavy chain. Animal Welfare Board of India
11(1)(g) No exercise: An owner neglecting to exercise a dog "habitually chained up or kept in close confinement". Animal Welfare Board of India
11(1)(h) No food, water or shelter: An owner failing to provide sufficient food, drink or shelter. Animal Welfare Board of India
11(1)(i) Abandonment: Abandoning an animal without reasonable cause where it is likely to suffer from starvation or thirst. Animal Welfare Board of India
11(1)(j) Sick animals in the street: Letting an animal with a contagious disease go at large, or a sick or disabled animal die, in a street. Animal Welfare Board of India
11(1)(l) Killing cruelly: Mutilating or killing any animal, "including stray dogs", by strychnine injections or other unnecessarily cruel means. Animal Welfare Board of India

What are the penalties, and will the police register an FIR?

Whether the police can act without a magistrate's order depends on whether the offence is cognizable.

	Penalty	Cognizable?
PCA Act section 11(1), most clauses, including (a) to (k) Animal Welfare Board of India	Rs 10 to Rs 50 first time; Rs 25 to Rs 100 or up to 3 months, or both, if repeated within 3 years	No
PCA Act section 11(1)(l), (n), (o) Animal Welfare Board of India	As above	Yes (section 31)
BNS section 325: killing, poisoning, maiming or rendering useless any animal Animal Welfare Board of India	Up to 5 years, or fine, or both	Yes
BNS section 303: stealing an animal Animal Welfare Board of India	As for theft	Yes
Owner who failed to supervise (section 11(2)) Animal Welfare Board of India	Deemed to have committed the offence; no imprisonment without the option of a fine if convicted only for that failure	As for the offence

AWBI's 2025 law enforcement handbook says the police must register an FIR on information about a cognizable offence, at any police station, and that information can be given orally or electronically. A non-cognizable complaint is entered and referred to the magistrate.

How do you report animal cruelty in India?

Start with what can stop the harm fastest, then build the record. Each stop is an official route.

Record it
Note the date, time and place; take photos or video from a safe distance; keep the names of any witnesses. Do not put yourself or the animal at risk.
Police
For killing, poisoning or maiming (BNS section 325), the police must register an FIR. Information can be given orally and written down by the officer, or sent electronically and signed within three days. Animal Welfare Board of India
District SPCA
Each district is meant to have a Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to address cruelty locally; AWBI asked states again on 12 February 2026 to set them up and make them work. Animal Welfare Board of India
AWBI
Lodge a cruelty complaint on AWBI's website. AWBI's published case list shows it writes to the authorities and parties, citing sections 3 and 11 of the Act. Animal Welfare Board of India
Magistrate
For a non-cognizable offence, the police enter the complaint and refer it to the magistrate, who can order an investigation. Animal Welfare Board of India

Why are the PCA Act's fines so small?

Because section 11's penalties were last changed in 1982, and the serious harms are now punished under the BNS.

The fines in section 11, Rs 10 to Rs 50 for a first offence, were set by the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Amendment) Act, 1982. AWBI's Acts page lists that amendment and no later one, so the 1982 figures are still the text Petym can confirm on 21 October 2026.

For the worst cruelty, the general criminal law carries the weight. Section 325 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, in force since 1 July 2024, punishes killing, poisoning, maiming or rendering useless any animal with up to five years' imprisonment, and AWBI's 2025 handbook lists it as cognizable, so the police can register an FIR and investigate without waiting for a magistrate.

AWBI itself is a statutory adviser rather than an enforcement agency. It was set up under section 4 of the Act, its functions in section 9 include advising the government and promoting humane treatment, and it issues guidelines such as those for housing societies and parks. Prosecution is for the police and the courts.

What it means for owners

Meeting the duty of care is mostly ordinary good care: food, water, shelter, exercise, a vet when needed, and never abandonment.

Section 11 names the basics an owner must provide: sufficient food, drink and shelter, exercise for a dog that is chained or confined, and freedom from cramped cages and short chains. AWBI's 2020 circular also reminds local bodies that keeping a dog in without walks is cruelty under section 11(1)(g).

Plan for the times you are away. Leaving a pet without enough food or water, or abandoning it when you move, can fall under section 11(1)(h) or (i). A trusted sitter, a drop-in visit or a boarding stay is how owners meet the duty while they travel.

Under section 11(2), an owner is treated as having committed a cruelty offence if they failed to take reasonable care and supervision to prevent it. Choose who looks after your pet carefully, and give them a written plan.

What it means for sitters

While a pet is in a sitter's care, the Act's duty of care is the sitter's duty too.

Section 2(f) defines owner to include "any other person for the time being in possession or custody of the animal", and section 3 puts the duty of care on "every person having the care or charge of any animal". A Petym sitter on a booking is that person, and the clauses on food, water, shelter, exercise and confinement apply to them in full.

Petym's process is built around that duty: the pet's plan for feeding, walks and medicines is followed as the owner writes it and logged as it happens, a daily photo update shows the pet is well, and in an emergency the sitter calls the owner and takes the pet to the nearest 24-hour vet on the city's list.

Crates and chains deserve care. Section 11(1)(e) and (f) make cramped cages and unreasonably short chains offences, so a sitter uses a crate only as the owner's plan describes and never as a way to leave a dog alone for long.

Going away soon? Tell us your dates.

A checked local sitter feeds, walks and keeps your pet company at home, follows your care sheet to the letter and sends a photo every day. Petym is opening city by city: send your dates and we will tell you when a sitter can take them.

Find a sitter for your pet How it works

Meet your sitter first, free
PAN-checked, first-aid trained
A photo every day
Pay through Petym, never cash

Questions owners ask

Is abandoning a pet a crime in India?: Yes. Section 11(1)(i) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 makes it an offence to abandon an animal without reasonable cause where it is likely to suffer from starvation or thirst. The first-offence fine is Rs 10 to Rs 50 under the 1982 text.
What is the punishment for killing a dog in India?: Under section 325 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, killing, poisoning, maiming or rendering useless any animal is punishable with imprisonment of up to five years, or a fine, or both. AWBI's 2025 handbook lists it as a cognizable offence, so police must register an FIR.
Can the police refuse to register a complaint about animal cruelty?: For a cognizable offence, such as killing or maiming an animal under BNS section 325, AWBI's 2025 handbook says the police must register an FIR, at any station. Most section 11 offences are non-cognizable: the police enter them and refer them to the magistrate.
Is keeping a dog chained all day cruelty?: It can be. Section 11(1)(f) of the PCA Act covers keeping an animal chained for an unreasonable time on an unreasonably short or heavy chain, and section 11(1)(g) covers an owner who neglects to exercise a dog that is habitually chained or confined.
How do I complain to the Animal Welfare Board of India?: Lodge a cruelty complaint through the Cruelty section of AWBI's website, awbi.gov.in. AWBI's published case list shows it writes to authorities and parties citing sections 3 and 11 of the Act. For an urgent case, go to the police or district SPCA as well.
Is a pet sitter responsible under the cruelty law?: Yes, while the pet is in their care. The PCA Act defines owner to include any person in possession or custody of the animal, and section 3 puts the duty of care on every person having the care or charge of an animal.

Keep reading

Dog bite rules in IndiaBNS section 291 and first steps after a bite.
Feeding community dogsThe ABC Rules and the Supreme Court's orders.
Pets in housing societiesWhy a society cannot force you to give up a pet.
Pet boarding and sitting licenceThe welfare rules for breeders, shops and kennels.
Dog walking rules in publicExercise, leashes and parks.
How to choose a pet sitterWhat to check before you hand over your pet.

Services that help

Words on this page, explained

Sources

Each source was opened and read on the date shown. How Petym checks its sources

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Animal Welfare Board of India: Cruelty: lodge a cruelty complaint, and the list of cruelty cases (opens in a new tab)checked 21 October 2026
Animal Welfare Board of India: Guidelines for the use of muzzles on dogs and care of community dogs (letter dated 16 August 2022) (opens in a new tab)checked 21 October 2026
Animal Welfare Board of India: Circular and guidelines for pet owners (1 June 2020) (opens in a new tab)checked 21 October 2026