Kerala: Measures needed to check cruelty to animals

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Link: http://www.hindu.com/2005/12/24/stories/2005122400610200.htm

 

Measures needed to check cruelty to animals

 

Is Kerala becoming routinely cruel to animals? Recently a camel,

brought from afar, died in captivity, while a crocodile in a pond

faced a shoot-to-kill order. Elephants are regular fixtures when it

comes to the ill-treatment tab. Do we need to be more humane here?

Our readers respond:

 

 

Curtail cruelty

 

Kerala has been routinely cruel to animals. Cruelty to elephants by

mahouts, even during musth, should be curtailed. The recent death of

a camel, brought for slaughter, in captivity and the order issued by

the authorities to shoot a crocodile are violations of the law.

Recently, the Kerala High Court upheld the order of the Forest

Department banning the import of elephants from other States. Ill-

treatment of animals can be prevented by the timely intervention of

the department concerned. We need to be humane to animals as their

survival is essential for ecological balance.

 

V.P. Ramesan

 

Thripunithura

 

Work for welfare

 

There are associations and groups that work for the welfare of

animals. Menaka Gandhi too is working to protect animals. The

Government should enact laws to stop the killing of animals and

birds. No animal should either be brought to the State from outside

or be sent to other States.

 

S.N. Thiruvazhiode

 

Poonithura

 

Initiate measures

 

If animals had the ability to speak, we would have hung our heads in

shame. Such is the level of atrocities committed on them. We do

nothing for the welfare of animals. One can often see lorries jam-

packed with cattle being brought to the State. Drivers of the

vehicles, carrying cattle and poultry, throw caution to the wind and

drive at breakneck speed. Ill-treatment of animals is a common

occurrence in our State. Although SPCA (Society for Prevention of

Cruelty to Animals) is making a hue and cry, animals continue to bear

the brunt of cruelty. Abattoirs are allowed to function without

taking into account environmental hazards. During festival seasons,

elephants are made to walk long distances, causing them fatigue. Be

it cattle, poultry, elephants or other animals, they deserve to be

treated with a humane attitude. Animals that pose a threat to man

should be taken care of by the Forest Department. The Government

should step in and initiate measures to prevent the ill-treatment of

animals. Rules and regulations should be implemented and violators

should be punished.

 

Devadas K. Nair

 

Aluva

 

Sensitise people

 

How many of us know that cosmetics are first tested on animals. The

animals, to be slaughtered, are transported in lorries and trucks for

long distances. They are not given food or water and do not have room

to stand.

 

They are made to walk on tarred roads and beaten up. People should be

sensitised against cruelty towards animals. Animals too have a right

to live. Gandhiji taught us to respect even plants and worms, as they

are the creations of God.

 

M.K. Balakrishnan Nayar

 

Thrissur

 

Disregard for life

 

Possibly, cruelty to animals is the outcome of ignorance, lack of

empathy and disregard for life. People rarely come forward to help

victims of accidents. The tendency is to observe the situation

passively than rush to the aid of the needy. The plight of elephants

during the festival season is heart-rending. Measures should be taken

to protect animals and prevent people from meting out ill-treatment

to them.

 

Devraj Sambasivan

 

Alappuzha

 

Inculcate values

 

Malayalis are more concerned about politics. The animals are flogged

mercilessly while being taken to the slaughterhouse.

 

Caparisoned elephants are paraded in streets, fed and photographed

during festive seasons. But they are forced to walk for days on end

to far-flung temples.

 

The hapless animals brave the traffic and, often, get killed when

trucks ram them. Many of them get injured. We cringe at the snapshots

of maimed pachyderms but flip the pages of the newspapers or magazine

to read more about cricket or the stock exchange. Children learn

about animals and birds at school through pictures or on their visit

to the zoo. Academic knowledge and religious lectures are also

imparted, but humane values, vital for a holistic development, are

not inculcated in the child. Humane behaviour towards animals should

be inculcated from childhood.

 

Annie Thomas

 

Kottakal

 

Punish the guilty

 

People should not be inhuman to animal. It is sad to note that law

condones cruelty to animals. Those who torment animals should be

severely punished.

 

A. Solaman

 

Alappuzha

 

A routine

 

Cruelty to animals has become routine in Kerala. The most ill-treated

of all are the elephants. Countries such as Sri Lanka and Thailand

have elephant orphanages.

 

Mallika Jayachandran

 

e-mail

 

Veterinary clinics

 

Animals should be protected. Of late, there have been several

instances of animals dying due to atrocities. The Prevention of

Cruelty against Animals Act has been invoked in the case relating to

the death of the camel. An order has been issued banning the import

of elephants from outside the State. Animals play a vital role in

maintaining ecological balance. The food chain and related habits of

interdependence prevailing in the animal kingdom is a natural

phenomenon. The health and fitness of animals is of little concern to

our society. Awareness has to be spread among the public stressing

the need for protecting animals. More veterinary clinics should be

opened, especially in the rural areas. This will help in treating

domestic animals that need medical attention. Public awareness

programs will go a long way in improving the present situation.

 

Swarnam Ramakrishnan

 

e-mail

 

Enact legislation

 

Selfless act by a few individuals has prompted the State to enact

legislation with regard to the handling of certain animals. Now, one

sees less of starving cattle being herded on roads and fowl being

hung on the handlebars of bicycles. Elephants too have earned some

respite, earlier they were forced to walk long distances from one

temple to another during the festive season. Now, they are

transported in trucks. Efforts should be on to sensitise the public.

Abattoirs are devoid of a proper waste and carcass disposal system.

Chicken and other poultry are slaughtered in the open, usually, in

front of the caged ones. The birds are cooped up in cages that are

highly unclean. Cattle and pigs are routinely butchered in an inhuman

manner. Steps should be taken to prevent such cruelty.

 

Suresh Warrier

 

e-mail

 

Unscientific killing

 

It is very unfortunate that in a literate State like ours, cases of

ill-treatment of animals are being reported regularly. Though the

problem hogged the limelight by the recent death of a camel in Kochi.

Lorries with buffaloes packed on the congested platforms, most of

which are illegally trafficked from neighbouring States, is a common

sight on the national highways. The unscientific and atrocious ways

adopted in local slaughterhouses for killing animals had created

controversies. But nothing much seems to have been done in this

regard. Apart from the ruthless treatment of the caretakers and lack

of proper food, the pachyderms are forced to work from dawn to dusk,

lugging logs. Manu Melwin Joy

 

Thrissur

 

Implement laws

 

The laws in the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 and the

Wildlife Protection Act, 1942 and the societies constituted to

implement them are adequate to check the cruelty to animals. The

isolated cases of ill treatment of elephants in captivity receive

media publicity and sympathy that is seldom shown to our aged

population most of whom wallow in distress.

 

The death of the camels brought for butchering can be averted if the

laws are implemented in a manner beneficial to non-vegetarians. It is

necessary to protect the endangered species of wildlife, restrict

destruction of the flora and fauna and prevent poaching for

commercial purposes.

 

Joy Eapen

 

Vennikulam