Section 495: Offences of cruelty

(1) Any person who‐
(a) cruelly beats, kicks, ill‐treats, over‐rides, over ‐dri ves, over‐loads, tortures,
infuriates, or terrifies any animal, or causes or procures, or being the owner, permits
any animal to be so used; or
(b) by wantonly or unreasonably doing or omitting to do any act, or causing or
procuring the commission or omission of any act, causes any unnecessary suffering, or
being the owner, permits any unnecessary suffering to be caused to any animal; or
(c) conveys or carries, or being the owner, permits to be conveyed or carried any
animal in such manner or position as to cause such animal unnecessary suffering; or
(d) wilfully without any reasonable cause or excuse administers, or causes or procures,
or, being the owner, permits such administration of, any poisonous or injurious drug or
substances to any animal, or wilfully without any reasonable cause or excuse causes
any such substance to be taken by any animal; or
(e) subjects, or causes or procures, or, being the owner, permits, to be subjected, any
animal to any operation which is performed without due care and humanity; or
(f) causes, or procures, or assists at the fighting or baiting of any animal, or keeps,
uses, manages, or acts or assists in the management of any premises or place for the
purpose, or partly for the purpose, of fighting or baiting any animal, or permits any
place to be so kept, managed or used, or receives or causes or procures any person to
receive money for the admission of any person to such premises or place,
is guilty of an offence of cruelty and is liable to imprisonment for six months or to a
fine of fifty naira or to both such imprisonment and fine.
(2) For the purposes of this section, an owner shall be deemed to have committed
cruelty within the meaning of this Chapter if he shall have failed to exercise
reasonable care and supervision in respect of the protection of the animal therefrom:
Provided that, when an owner is convicted of permitting cruelty within the meaning of
this Chapter by reason only of his having failed to exercise such care and supervision,
he is not liable to imprisonment without the option of a fine.
(3) Nothing in this Chapter shall apply‐
(a) to the commission or omission of any act in the course of the destruction, or the
preparation for destruction, of any animal as food for mankind, unless such destruction
or such preparation was accompanied by the infliction of unnecessary suffering; or
(b) to the coursing or hunting of any captive animal, unless such animal is liberated in
an injured, mutilated or exhausted condition; but a captive animal shall not, for the
purpose of this section, be deemed to be coursed or hunted before it is liberated for
the purpose of being coursed or hunted, or after it has been recaptured, or if it is
under control.