A tale of two cities : citizens in Delhi and London speak out in one voice against cruelty to animals

[Guest guest]

A young student named Kanishka Sharma did amazing work to get this rally

going. Also Vasudha Mehta and Ms Rukmini Shekhar did a lot of coordination.

Mrs Anjali Sharma, counsel of Delhi High Court added her voice. Mr Chandan

Mitra, editor of Pioneer and Mr Vinod Mehta, editor of Outlook attended and

expressed their views on animal cruelty. Mr Karlekar was kind enough to ask

me to address the rally outlining the policy of this animal protection

committee. Individuals came in from all walks of life to express solidarity

with the cause. Rishi Dev presented a beautiful poster. It was a very

successful event and media coverage has been excellent. We are also very

happy that our friends in London, especially Sarah Kite and Claire Palmer

extended support for this gathering. Thank you very much for your

cooperation. Delhi rallies for stray animalsTNN, Apr 25, 2010, 12.45am IST

 

NEW DELHI: Animal lovers from all walks of life gathered at Jantar

Mantar on Saturday to take part in a citizens' rally, 'United for Animals'.

Their aim, as part of a coordination committee in Defence of Animals, was to

prevent cruelty to animals. The rally coincided with the one being organised

in London to mark World Day for Animals in Laboratories which wants to bring

to an experimentation on animals.

 

Hiranmay Karlekar, one of the co-convenors of CCDA, said: " A number of

municipal bodies capture stray dogs in the most cruel manner causing serious

injuries to them in the process and either kill them or release them on the

outskirts in the city. These dogs eventually die horrible deaths as they do

not know how to fend for themselves in unfamiliar surroundings. This action

is in gross violation of the Animal Birth Control (ABC) rules which only

allows stray dogs to be removed for sterilisation, vaccination. Under ABC

rules, the dogs should be returned where they were picked up from. "

 

The participants demanded effective action against illegal slaughtering

houses where animals are killed cruelly, strict implementation of livestock

transport rules and prevention of atrocities on street animals. They said

the trend of people feeding or taking care of strays should be encouraged.

 

Many animal lovers voiced concern overt “stray dogs being rounded-up across

the city before Commonwealth Games and being taken elsewhere " . Jaya Jaitely,

former president of the Samata Party of India, said: " There is talks of

removing stray dogs from their natural surroundings before the Games. This

is like taking someone out of their homes. We should take into account the

rights of animals. We should not try to change the face of the city for an

event that is taking place for only two weeks. Moreover, why have the

authorities woken up to the stray animal problems now, it has been there for

years now and we should be proud of the way Delhi is. "

 

Bands like Them Clones, Indian Ocean, Bandish, etc showed their support to

the cause by performing outside Jantar Mantar. Kala Gujarati, who looks

after eight to 10 dogs in CP and earns her living by selling cushion covers

stressed on the need for compassion to animals. Though she struggles to make

ends meet, for Kala and her children the dogs are like extended family.

 

Classical dancer Sonal Mansingh said: " The arrogance of humans has crossed

all limits. Why are we trying to prove to the world that Delhi is better

than world-class cities by dislocating animals from their surroundings? "

 

Ambika Shukla of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals: " The

Constitution of India gives us the right to show compassion to animals. "

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City-Delhi/Delhi-rallies-for-stray-animals/ar\

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