Animal welfare body notice to Ranbaxy on Beagle import

Advocate Raj Panjwani, who served the notice on behalf of the organisation, told Ranbaxy that legal proceedings would be initiated against the company if it failed to hand over all the Beagles to the Quarantine Officer of the Ministry of Environment and Forests within 24 hours of receiving the notice.

The Ministry had sent a letter to Ranbaxy on March 18, directing the Quarantine Officer not to release the Beagles till the “purpose for which they have been imported has been evaluated”.

“Despite the order, you have managed to take possession of the Beagles, though their statutoryquarantine period of four weeks has not yet elapsed. Consequently, the Ministry has asked the authorities concerned to take back the Beagles,” states Panjwani.

He adds that neither the Chief Wildlife Warden nor the Deputy Director, Ministry of Environment and Forests, was authorised to issue a no-objection certificate to import the dogs for experimental purposes.

“The perusal of the letters obtained from the said two authorities show that they have not issued a no-objection certificate, but have merely informed you that no permission is required under the Wildlife Protection Act from your office.”

Section 15 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960 permits only those experiments on animals which will further new discoveries or physiological knowledge useful for saving or prolonging the life of human beings, animals or plants, Panjwani says.

“Further, Section 17 of the said Act confers on the Committee for the Purpose of Controlling and Supervising Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA) the dutyto take all such measures as may be necessary to ensure that animals are not subjected to unnecessary pain or suffering during or after the experiments,” Panjwani opines.

The Committee has framed a set of rules under the Experiments on Animals (Control and Supervision) Rules 1968 laying down details regarding the stocking of animals and nature of experiments among other things.

“The authority from whom you should have obtained the no-objection certificate before importing the 50 Beagles, would be the CPCSEA. No such permission had been applied for or obtained by you from the Committee. Thus, the import of the Beagles is illegal and in violation of the laws,” says Panjwani.

Meanwhile, Welfare Minister Maneka Gandhi has again criticised the pharmaceutical company for reducing the canines to guinea pigs. In a statement today, she said that the company was resorting to cruelty to animals in the name of research which should be stopped with immediate effect.