Should the law be amended to punish use of animals to offend?

The remark by a beleaguered senior police official not too long ago about the helplessness of caged parrots comes back into focus now that the curious complaint by a Gujarati woman has put the spotlight on fowl acts of commission.

Admittedly, ever since an allegedly insolent parrot was incarcerated by the police — after the woman asserted it constantly used abusive language against her — it has been tight-beaked, but its complicity in the harassment operation was apparent from the victim’s obvious agitation. Hopefully, the authorities will consider the mitigating fact that it only parroted what it was taught by its master — the woman’s disgruntled stepson — which is a perfectly natural thing for at least a parrot to do. Indeed, the bird’s quick learning ability needs to be commended.

The stepson’s ingenuity in exploiting a lacuna in the law is noteworthy too. Co-opting animals in nefarious deeds has no real penalty in law so far. But if more people take a cue from this incident and use parrots, primates and other such creatures to further their evil designs, it may be time to consider amending laws or legislating anew to deal with this phenomenon. Also, as police lack the expertise and facilities to deal with furry or feathered co-accused, special taskforces need to be formed too.