What does the law say about the Bakerganj dog killers?

In Durgapur village of Barishal's Bakerganj upazila a dog was tied, hanged from a tree, and beaten to death in broad daylight.

According to locals, a few youths committed the act as if it were nothing more than a form of entertainment, like a macabre show with no consequences. The main perpetrator was fined just Tk 5,000, while three others, all minors, were released on bond.

The footage, uploaded by Mozammel Hossain Mohon, a local civic activist, is painful to watch.

However, what is more painful is the familiar silence that followed.

There was no public outrage, no front-page headline -- just a quiet whimper of justice trying to be heard in a country where animal cruelty rarely makes the news, let alone the courts.

But here's the thing, Bangladesh does have laws to address this.

The Animal Welfare Act, 2019 was introduced to replace the outdated Cruelty to Animals Act of 1920. It was meant to be a progressive step toward recognising that animals are sentient beings and not just property to be disposed of as one pleases.

Under sections 6 and 7 of the 2019 act, actions that cause unnecessary pain -- such as tying, hanging, beating, or killing an animal in a cruel manner -- are clearly defined as criminal offences. The Bakerganj case ticks all those boxes.

So, what should happen to those responsible?

According to section 16 of the act, the law mandates up to six months in jail, or a fine of up to Tk 10,000, or both, for a first-time offender.

But the perpatrator in this case was fined only Tk 5,000 and no arrests were made. What message does that send?

Despite the law, the uncomfortable truth is that we've seen too many of these cases vanish into thin air. Despite video evidence, eyewitness accounts, and even public confession, most perpetrators of animal cruelty are never held accountable.

And the reasons are both systemic and cultural.

Law enforcement often treats such cases as trivial. There's no dedicated animal protection unit and investigations rarely move past the reporting stage unless there's intense media or public pressure. And our society, for the most part, still sees animals, especially strays, as nuisance, not living beings.

But to dismiss this violence as "just a dog's death" is just as dangerous as it is callous.

Numerous studies across the world have shown that animal abuse is often a precursor to human violence, including domestic abuse, sexual violence, and even murder. When we allow brutality against animals to go unpunished, we normalise the idea that some lives are disposable and that cruelty is just a matter of context.

What does it say about us as a society when a group of boys can hang and beat a dog to death in public, and still walk home free?

Some might argue that the law isn't strong enough. And yes, the penalties could and should be harsher. But right now, the bigger problem isn't the punishment, it's the lack of enforcement. That too is further fuelled by our culture of looking away, and our belief that animal lives don't matter and that those who torture them don't need to be held accountable.

In the Bakerganj case, the local UNO and police say they are trying to arrest those responsible. Whether that results in real action or another quietly shelved case remains to be seen.

But this time, we should not look away. Let's not let this dog's death be just another forgotten statistic, let it be a beginning.