- PETA India acted on April 26 to stop planned animal sacrifice at Beerappa Temple near Secunderabad
- Medipally police informed temple authorities about Telangana's ban on animal sacrifice and prevented it
- Telangana law prohibits animal sacrifice in public religious places, processions, and temple precincts
The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India intervened swiftly after receiving information from local activits Gayatri Sanguo on the evening of April 26 about a planned mass animal sacrifice as part of ritual practices at Beerappa Temple in Chengicherla, near Secunderabad.
Following the complaint, officials from the Medipally police station held a meeting with the temple authorities and informed them about the state ban on animal sacrifice, as a result of which the proposed sacrifice was prevented.
The complaint highlighted that Section 3 of the Telangana Animals and Birds Scarifices Prohibition Act, 1950, strictly prohabits the scarifice of any animal at any place of public religious worship or adoration, its precincts, or during any congregation or procession connected with religious worship on a public street.
It further noted that Section 4 bars any person from officiating, performing, assisting, participating or offering to participate in such sacrifices.
Section 5 prohibits the use of a place of public religious worship or its precincts for animal sacrifice by anyone in charge of the temple. Section 9 states that violations of Sections 3, 4, and 5 constitute a cognizable and punishable offence.
Killing animals illegally by multiple persons in furtherance of a common intention contitutes a punishable offence under Section 3(5) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. Additionally, Section 325 of the BNS prescribes punishment for mischievously killing animals, with imprisonment that may extend to five years, or a fine, or both.
Several states, including Gujarat, Kerala, Puducherry, and Rajasthan, have enacted laws prohibiting the religious sacrifice of animals in temples and their precincts.
Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana have broader prohibitions, banning animal sacrifice at any place of public religious worship, adoration, its precinct,and during any congregation or procession connected with religious worship on public streets.
