How animal cruelty harms humans

Despite India's historical empathy towards animals, modern animal husbandry practices are in stark contrast to this tradition, and includes intensive and exploitative systems. Image: Shutterstock

The India Animal Fund and Dasra released a report on Tuesday titled ‘Our shared future: Securing animal welfare, human wellbeing, and sustainability in India’, which highlights the crucial role of animal welfare within India's socio-economic and ecological systems. The report demonstrates how animal welfare is closely linked with public health, labour welfare, and climate resilience.

The report looks at animals in different sectors, such as farm animals in the agriculture and allied sectors, working animals such as bovines, equids, camels and elephants, animals used in experimentation (about 1.2 million), and homeless animals including cats, dogs, horses, donkeys, and cows, most of which are abandoned and inhabit public places.

Let’s take a look at some numbers:

• India has more than 3.8 billion animals in its agricultural and allied industries
• There are 70 million bovines, 500,000 equids and camels used in the cultural and tourism sectors
• There are 1,579 registered facilities for animal experimentation and over 80 million homeless   community animals

With regards to environmental impact, the report highlights that livestock farming accounts for 14.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and significantly contributes to habitat destruction and pollution. Industrialised farming demands extensive land and fodder, leading to deforestation and ecological imbalances. For instance, intensive fishing practices have disrupted the ecological balance of aquatic environments. Additionally, increased pollution from runoffs associated with animal farms, slaughterhouses, and related facilities, along with improper waste management, contaminates water, soil, and air. This pollution negatively impacts nearby communities and the natural resources they depend on.