KRISHNA TEMPLE PEAFOWL ROW

[Guest guest]

Dear colleagues,

The interesting article attached was published

yesterday in Bartaman, a leading Bengali daily published from Kolkata. I am

providing some background on ISKCON for foreigners to help them grasp the

significance of the issue. ISKCON, or the International Society for Krishna

Consciousness, is a huge Hindu organisation dedicated to spreading the

message of the Hindu God Lord Krishna. They have temples all over the world

dedicated to Lord Krishna and his consort Radha.

 

I visited the Mayapur temple in Bengal as a very young child and remember

seeing the mini zoo. The animals kept in the zoo are symbolic of the

compassion extended by Lord Krishna to all living creatures in his lifetime,

a theme that finds emphasis in the Hindu religious text, the

Bhagavadgita(Lord Krishna's sermon to Arjuna in the battlefield of

Kurukshetra).

 

This tussle regarding the captive peafowl at the Mayapur ISKCON temple has

been going on for some time now and has also been reported in the English

press in India. One hopes that the birds, wherever they may be, are treated

with the same compassion and kindness that Lord Krishna is believed to stand

for.

Best regards,

 

 

BARTAMAN, 20th June, 2008, Kolkata

 

*ISKCON Temple peafowl confiscated by West Bengal Forest Department*

 

B N A, Mayapur(Nadia), West Bengal : The Forest department has confiscated

several peafowl in the premises of the Mayapur temple that were being kept

without proper permission. These peafowl had been kept in cages for a long

time in the ISKCON Mayapur temple. Recently the issue came to the notice of

the district forest officers. However due to the lack of proper

infrastructure, the birds are currently being housed in the ISKCON temple

premises. According to the 1972 Wildlife Protection Act, the Indian peafowl

is listed as an endangered animal and comes under the Schedule I category.

The ISKCON authorities have however stated that they have applied for

permission from the Forest Department.

 

The ISKCON temple authorities have kept the birds caged as exhibits for

visitors for almost eight years. Initially there were three or four birds in

their custody. Now the number has risen to fourteen. In the beginning, they

were housed in a small cage. Now the birds are being kept in two

comparatively large fenced enclosures.

 

The ISKCON temple had an elephant for an extended period. The animal died

about one and a half years ago. Recently, the temple authorities have

brought in another elephant. District forest officials went to see the

elephant at the ISKCON temple a few days ago. The temple authorities however

do have the requisite permits to keep the elephant. The forest officials

noted the captive peafowl whilst on tour to see the elephant. They asked the

temple authorities for documents giving permission to keep the birds

captive. But no document was shown.

 

Haridas Bhattacharya, Range Officer of the Krishnanagar Forest Department

said that the birds of the ISKCON temple have been impounded because there

were no documents providing permission to house them. Since there are

currently no proper facilties at the Bethuadahari sanctuary to keep the

birds, they have been kept in the ISKCON temple premises. The Chief Wildlife

Warden has been informed of the matter. Further steps will be taken in

accordance to his instructions.

 

According to the Wildlife Protection Act, endangered animals can only be

kept in captivity in zoos. If some private individual wants to possess them

then they are required to obtain a permit under the mini or small zoo

category. The ISKCON temple authorities however have not done that. The

ISKCON Public Relations Officer, Ramesh Das said, " We have written a letter

applying for permission from the Forest Department. Probably we will get

permission. Veterinarians at our place are looking after the birds. If the

Forest Department insists on taking the birds, they are free to do so. "