India/camels/CUPA in Deccan Herald

[Guest guest]

Struggle for survival The advancement of motors has rendered both camels and

their keepers ‘jobless’, forcing them to make the long and arduous journey from

their desert to the tarred reality of cities. They now earn their daily bread by

offering joy rides to awestruck children, battling the many obstacles that come

their way. R S Ranjeetha Urs does a reality check.

 

excerpt:

If this is the version of camel riders, what do Animal rights activists have to

say? “Camels are considered as domestic animals just like the livestock. They

have been domesticated for ages. It is not illegal to have camels but we are

only worried about them being sold to abattoirs,” says Savitha Nagabhushan of

Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA).

 

Another worrying factor that dogs animal rights activists is the kind of

treatment meted out to animals. “There is no monitoring of the number of hours

these camels are made to work. The average number of rides these camels take

everyday, their health status, the food they are being fed, all needs to be

monitored. But who will monitor all these? The state hardly intervenes and it is

always an NGO that has to make an intervention. However, the law enforcing

agencies seem to have no time to tackle these issues,” says Suparna Baksi

Ganguly, vice-president, CUPA (www.cupabangalore.org) , also the member of the

State Animal Welfare Council.

 

full article:

http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/nov72006/spectrum1853152006116.asp