A spate of attacks on animals using airguns has triggered a wave of outrage from animal welfare activists, who are calling for tighter regulation and enforcement of the sale and use of these weapons. In the latest incident in Navelim, a pet dog was shot four times. Despite the existence of animal cruelty laws, such cases rarely progress beyond the initial complaint, leaving known offenders free — and often emboldened.
“If you ask me, nobody should be allowed to buy an airgun,” says Fidoll Pereira, an animal rescuer and activist. “People living in remote forested areas with plantations may require guns to scare off bison and other wildlife. But why does anyone in an urban area need one? To shoot birds or dogs for sport? Our parents never required such gadgets. These weapons can maim a child or kill an animal, and they are often misused by children who don’t understand their power.”
Despite the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 empowering police to act against such violence, activists argue that law enforcement rarely takes these cases seriously. “There is no will to investigate or deliver justice,” Pereira adds. “When the law itself is so mild, the police don’t prioritise these crimes.”
Her frustration is echoed across the animal welfare community, who point to repeated incidents of brutality. In December 2022, a Colva man allegedly shot and killed his neighbour’s cat after previously threatening to do so. The government vet conducted an autopsy and recovered buckshot from the animal’s skull, but police later closed the case citing lack of evidence — the airgun was never retrieved.
Months later, he was booked again for throwing boiling water on a puppy and killing it, but that case also failed to progress.
“In May, a dog we were feeding was shot and killed in Benaulim-Pedda. Since the pellets were not found during the autopsy, the case was closed,” recalls Pereira. Another community dog was killed with an airgun near Telaulim bridge last year, but there were no witnesses.
“There have been so many such cases,” says a feeder from the Colva–Benaulim area, who asked not to be named. “I’ve been threatened with an airgun for feeding and medicating strays. One man said he’d shoot me and the dogs I feed. I didn’t report it — I’m not an Indian citizen and just want to do my work quietly.”
Virginia Simoes of the DSPCA believes the police must create and maintain a registry of airgun owners. “They’re too easily bought online, and many use them to kill pigeons, cranes, and small wild animals for fun or food. The police need to acknowledge them as weapons, and have a database of people who own them,” she says. Simoes, who has been liaising with the police regarding last week’s shooting, reports that the airgun surrendered by the accused was not the one used in the crime. The police have now sent the gun for ballistic matching, which is expected to further delay the resolution of the case.
Retired PSI Madhuker Baiker notes that police do have the power to investigate, search premises, seize weapons, and file charges under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
Legal experts agree that stronger deterrents are necessary. Seoula Vaz, advocate for the DSPCA (North), says, “Though these are bailable offences and the accused may cooperate, the use of a weapon to kill a defenceless animal must not be taken lightly. Violence against animals is not a private matter — it reflects a deeper threat to public safety and civil society.”
The legal classification of airguns adds further complexity. Advocate Prasad Naik points out that under Indian law, airguns with a muzzle energy below 20 joules and a calibre of 0.177 inches do not require a licence. Higher-calibre weapons do. However, a recent Supreme Court stay on an order classifying all airguns as firearms has further clouded enforcement.
“There is no requirement to register an airgun of below 20 joules with the police,” Naik says. “But if one is used to shoot an animal, the accused can be booked under Section 325 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, along with the relevant provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.”