Courtesy ARF: The law of the wild says kill only when you are hungry

Coutesy Maneka Ghandi: Tribute to Foreigners committed to animal welfare cause in India

Courtesy Maneka Gandhi:Tribute to Foreigners committed to the animal welfare cause in India

Subject: article from Smt Maneka gandhi

How many Indians abroad work for animals in the countries they live in ? I was in Chicago fifteen years ago at a 6000 strong Jain convention. All rich, all educated. I was there to lecture about animal welfare but when I arrived I realized that this was basically a marriage mela. At the beginning of my speech to this group I asked how many were vegetarian – a sea of hands went up. I asked how many were members of PETA , about 30 hands went up. I asked how many donated to animal welfare organizations , 7 hands rose. When I asked how many volunteered at animal shelters or in the wildlife protection movement , not one hand came up. I knew I was in trouble. Sure enough, the donations I collected for the hospitals in India was less than $ 500. The organizers collected 6.5 million dollars for a new temple , to be built inscribing the names of the donors.

I thought I would write today about the foreigners that I have seen work for animals in India .

I was 18 and newly married when I met Crystal Rogers, an old English woman who was migrating to Australia , stopped in India for a day, saw a horse with its eye out of its socket and decided to stay on. She had no money so she lived in the shack of a Christian graveyard in Delhi . My husband gave her 3 acres and she put up kennels and barns. She called her organisation Animals Friend. According to Indian law she had to have Indians on the board. She chose unwisely and these wretched people took away the shelter from her as soon as the land became valuable and use it till today for renting for marriages and melas. She shifted to Jaipur with no money, got in touch with the Rajmata Jaipur who gave her stables which she redid by singing in schools and collecting money. As soon as the stables looked good, the Rajmata took them back and gave them to Mother Teresa. Crystal , arthritic, almost blind, 85 years old, moved to Bangalore in 1991 , discovered 3 lovely young girls and made an organisation called CUPA ( Compassion Unlimited Plus Action) which now runs the main shelter in Karnataka and does an amazing amount of good work.

Belinda Wright was born in India where her parents ran the Calcutta Royal Turf Club. They were wildlife conservation people , far ahead of their time . Belinda's mother Anne Wright helped set up World Wide Fund for Nature(WWF) India in the late 1960s. She was a member of the Tiger Task Force that was commissioned by Mrs. Indira Gandhi to select nine tiger reserves for the launch of Project Tiger in 1973. Belinda just sent me a picture of Sanjay and me at the Palamau tiger reserve which we inaugurated in the 70s. Belinda is one of India 's leading wildlife conservationists and In 1994, she founded the Wildlife Protection Society of India to provide support and information to combat poaching and the illegal wildlife trade. She spent 3 months undercover in Tibet documenting the tigerskin trade there.

Christine and Jeremy Townend came to India in their 50s. She was the founder of the animal liberation movement in Australia and simply got fed up with a meat eating, insensitive society. In 1990 she started 'Help in Suffering' in Jaipur and was the first person to start the sterilization of dogs. It is due to her that Jaipur became the first rabies free city in India . It is now run by the Englishman Dr Jack Reece who has been here for 15 years and does incredible work. Christine and Jeremy went back to Australia two years ago.

Clementein Pauws is a Belgian who came to India with a disabled husband and son originally as a disciple of Sathya Sai Baba. She has set up an excellent animal rescue centre in Anantapur which she runs with her pension- she is in her late sixties. She is an excellent , robust no nonsense woman who rescues animals from morning to night and is always being harassed by local officials because she is the only foreigner who goes out to stop cows from going to illegal slaughter as well. At the moment she has a broken arm.

An American couple called James Myers and Erika Abrams came to India as tourists, and stayed on in 1993 in a village in Udaipur . They founded Animal Aid Unlimited, an animal care center which rescues animals. They are an enthusiastic couple who have a lovely daughter called Claire who speaks perfect Hindi and works with her parents to raise funds, recruit volunteers and deliver talks on compassion for animals at schools as a way of involving children to help street animals. They were initially gypped of all their money and ambulance by an Indian on the Board. Unfortunately this has happened in every case where foreigners have put in their money and had to nominate Indians on the board.

It happened to a gentle young woman Rachel Wright who sold her house in England and has moved to Pushkar to start TOLFA – Tree of Life. As soon as she made her shelter, the Indian woman on the Board tried to take the land forcibly to live there. I had to intervene. She does a lot of rescues , dog sterilization and looks after camels.

Avis Lyons , a feisty English woman started the first animal shelter in Kerala when she visited India after retirement in 2000 and decided to settle down here . She set up ARK and runs a good hospital/ rescue centre which was financed by selling her house in England . She took pictures of illegal killing by the municipality, complained to the police about them. They went after her with a vengeance, and put false criminal cases on this little old woman. She is now abroad struggling with cancer but the shelter is still being run by her daughter. Penny Shepherd is another retiree who has just started animal rescue work in Cochin Kerala by making an organisation called Mad Dogs Trust.

John Hicks was born in a very poor family. As a teenager he looked after an even poorer single woman living in a council flat in England . She died and left him millions ! He is mad about animals and made International Animal Rescue and shifted to Goa to run its best animal animal shelter. He is now in his sixties and it is because of his and his lawyer Alan’s money that we have been able to take away all the dancing bears from the Indian streets.

There are so many others : Bonny Shah was an American married to an Indian. She exported clothes to America and funded a donkey sanctuary in Sholapur . Adriana Ferranti, an Italian Buddhist nun who lives in Bihar and looks after people and animals. The fearless and outspoken Canadian Lisa Warden who has just been driven out by the Gujarat state government because she caught the Ahmedabad municipality killing animals illegally .

India owes a big debt to these selfless missionaries. I have known all of them and I admire how they put themselves to great risk and discomfort simply to save as many animals as they can. If anyone has imbibed the true nature of Hinduism , it is these foreigners.

Maneka Gandhi

Pl add: To join the animal welfare movement contactgandhim@nic.in

Courtesy Sharon St. Joan:Tribute to Blue Cross of India

Courtesy Sharon St. Joan:Tribute to Blue Cross of India

INDIA: BLUE CROSS AMBULANCES SAVE 11,000 ANIMALS A YEAR! PART ONE

August 22, 2010, 1:19AM MT

By Sharon St Joan, Best Friends Network

The lives of tens of thousands of animals have been saved by the Blue Cross ambulance service:

Tripod, in this account by Dr. Chinny Krishna, Chairman of Blue Cross of India, is just one of tens of thousands of animals whose lives have been saved by the Blue Cross ambulance service:

In early October 2006, a little dog had been badly injured when she was hit by a motorcycle in Chennai. The student driver involved telephoned the Blue Cross, and the little dog was collected in one of their ambulances. The vet on duty was sure that nothing could be done to save her rear leg, and reluctantly, amputated it. The next day this young dog was happily greeting visitors to the Blue Cross office where the staff had kept her.

She was a most friendly dog, and everybody felt that with her playful nature, she would be adopted within a few days. Two months passed but no one seemed to want a three-legged dog, no matter how playful and friendly she was till, finally, my son, Rudra visited one evening and was immediately captivated by her friendliness and beautiful eyes as she lay on a chair wagging her tail. He picked her up and only then did he realize that she had only three legs. After a few minutes he put her down and went round the shelter, and the three-legged dog followed him everywhere with her eyes following his every move.

Rudra decided to take her to his home, and while driving home decided to call her Tripod. Fifteen minutes later Tripod was in her new home playing happily with the other dogs who shared Rudra’s home. She’s been happily part of the family ever since.

Two new ambulances

Now, some very generous people have given two new ambulances to Blue Cross of India. Their extraordinary ambulance service picks up 11,000 animals in distress every year.

Throughout India, there are a number of Indian animal welfare groups that run a 24/7 ambulance service to pick up injured animals.

Any hour of the day or night, any day of the year, if a resident of Chennai, in the south of India, comes across an animal in distress, he or she can call Blue Cross of India, and an ambulance will be sent out right away to rescue the animal.

When the animal arrives at Blue Cross, she will be treated, even in the middle of the night, by an emergency vet. There is always one on duty. In most cases, these are street animals who have no one to pay for them. Blue Cross provides excellent care for them—and donations to Blue Cross cover the costs. (You can help with this too, if you’d like to. Your help will be much appreciated.)

Because Blue Cross has been operating this service full time for many years, some of the ambulances were a little the worse for wear, and some new ones were very urgently needed. The nine ambulances in their fleet were always busy non-stop, and if one or two had gone out of operation that could have meant that an injured animal might have had to wait to be rescued, so it was really important for that not to happen. Now, with the two new ones there are eleven ambulances altogether—all kept busy rescuing animals in distress.

The Brigitte Bardot Foundation’s generosity

Some really kind people came forward to help this essential service. The Brigitte Bardot Foundation in France gave a really wonderful, generous donation to cover the cost of an entire new ambulance. But when Blue Cross went to purchase the ambulance, they found that the price had gone up in the meantime! Well, it was okay anyway. Aslok Leyland, the ambulance company, very kindly reduced the price again, just to help out the animals, and absorbed the extra cost.

And a second new ambulance!

The Rukmini Devi Arundale Trust and the Animal Welfare Board of India helped too!

A second new ambulance was donated, half by the Rukmini Devi Arundale Trust, who gave $10,000 (450,000 rupees) and half by the Animal Welfare Board of India, who gave another $10,000—and together that was enough to cover the cost of the second ambulance!

Receiving the two new ambulances was a very special occasion, and the event also celebrated a complete upgrade of the Blue Cross cat area!

A lot of changes have taken place at Blue Cross in the past little while—and they all mean that one of the largest and most effective animal groups in the world has gotten even better!

A new General Manger has been hired, Dawn Williams; he’s an ex-commando with the Indian military, and he keeps everything ship-shape!

Blue Cross will now be charging families who can afford to pay for vet care. This will help out with the expenses, which are really enormous, due to the size of their operations and the number of animals they help—and will enable Blue Cross to continue to cover the expenses of the many community animals who have no one to pay for their care.

So if a family brings in their dog or cat to be seen by the vet, they’ll pay $ 1 (50 rupees) for a consultation and a first dose of medication—or a rabies vaccination. An IV, if needed, will be $2. A five-way multi-vaccination will be $5. Any other treatments needed will be dispensed mostly at cost. All the unowned street animals will still be treated free of charge, just as before.

Continued in Part Two....

How you can help

To read Part Two, click here.

To visit the website of Blue Cross of India, click here.

If you’d like to help some of the street animals that Blue Cross is rescuing and putting back on their feet again, you may send a donation in care of Animal People Newspaper. Please indicate that your donation is for Blue Cross of India, click here.

Top photo: Narayanan Hariharan / Tripod

Second photo: Blue Cross of India / All the people who had something to do with Blue Cross and the ambulances:

Brian Dalton, Acting Consul General of the U.S., with his dog, Devi, Dr. Nanditha Krishna, Sathya Radhakrishnan, General Kharb, the Chairman of the Animal Welfare Board of India, Marion Courtine representing the Rukmini Devi Arundale Trust, Mrs. Kharb, Dawn Williams, the General Manager of the Blue Cross, Mrs. Sunita Shahaney, Dr. Chinny Krishna, the Chairman and co-Founder of the Blue Cross, Mr. Ram Shahaney (sideways), the Chairman of Ashok Leyland, Shantilal Pandya (member of the Governing Body of the Blue Cross); Dr. Saleem Aslam, Member of the AWBI; V. Ravi Shankar, Treasurer of the Blue Cross of India

Third photo: Narayanan Hariharan / A puppy at the Blue Cross

Courtesy Roxanne Dafur:new DCP in Delhi/Gurgaon

Courtesy Roxanne Dafur:

To all NGOs and animal carers in Delhi or specifically Gurgaon

There is a new DCP in town who welcomes socially minded people
He specifically wishes for help and will extend all his help in taking cattle off the streets of Delhi
He has them placed in a Gowshalla which is open for any inspection
As far as training of his staff and colleagues please visit him or phone him on his mobile
He is open to all suggestions.
His personal work is actually low to non income elderly persons
He is basically a vegan

Please let me know of your experiences

DCP Maheshwar Dayal

99999 81805

Regards
Roxanne Davur

Courtesy KARMA: landmark judgment for animal cruelty

Courtesy KARMA: Landmark judgement for animal cruelty

Courtesy FIAPO: In case of harassment for tending to/feeding stray dogs

Courtesy FIAPO: In case of harassment for tending to/feeding stray dogs

Dear All,

Whenever some of you face / anticipate harassment re feeding of stray dogs, one needs to be clear on the legal rights, and those of the animals that you are tending to and feeding.

Firstly, the Constitution of India, vide its Article 51A (g), casts a fundamental duty upon every citizen of India to have compassion for living creatures. So in doing what you're doing, you're performing a fundamental duty.

Secondly, there is no law that prohibits tending to or feeding community animals. Neighbors who harass you, or an association that gets unnecessarily abrasive, can be told that their actions are tantamount to criminal intimidation, which is an offence under the Indian Penal Code.

As per Indian law - the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules enacted under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act - street dogs cannot be beaten or driven way or displaced or dislocated. They can only be sterilized, vaccinated, and then returned back to the very location that they were picked up from. For your reference, I am attaching a scanned copy of the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules with this mail. Please particularly refer to Rule 7, though all the Rules make interesting reading.

The logic behind returning the dogs back to the territories that they were picked up from is that dogs, being territorial in nature, fight off and keep other dogs from coming into their territories. If, however, they are removed permanently, other dogs come into the 'dog-free' vacuum that is thereby created. So the 'problem' continues.

I am also annexing with this mail, 2 Delhi High Court orders, dated 18th December, 2009, and 4th February, 2010, passed in the matter of 'Citizens for the Welfare and Protection of Animals vs State and Others', and connected criminal writ petitions. The High Court recognized vide the same that feeding is an integral part of the sterilization and vaccination exercize, and actually directed that dog feeding spots should be identified within each locality. Pursuant to the passing of these orders, the Animal Welfare Board of India formulated dog feeding guidelines, which have been placed before the Court.

(Initially, vide the first order, the Court had directed that the AWBI will designate spots in consultation with RWAs and the police ; but vide the second order the task was entrusted only to the Board in tacit recognition of the fact that the AWBI is the expert body, and best suited to designate feeding spotS, and not just one feeding spot.)

I trust these will help you. For clarifications, if any, you can always revert to me.

Rgds

Anjali Sharma

Courtesy AAPN: Animal ambulances will roll out in 50 taluks

Courtesy aapn: Animal ambulances will roll out in 50 taluks

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/Animal-ambulances-will-roll-out-in-50-taluks/articleshow/6284884.cms

BANGALORE: The BJP's concern for animals is becoming increasingly evident. Along with the ban on cattle slaughter, the state government now wants to put in place 24x7 ambulances for animals in rural areas.

Initially, the government will set up 50 mobile veterinary units. To expedite the scheme, there's a provision of Rs 80 lakh in the supplementary estimates, which along with the budget was passed in the recently concluded legislature session.

The success of Arogya Kavacha, the 24x7 emergency ambulance service by the health & family welfare department for the rural masses, is the inspiration for the animal husbandry department to launch this service. It's planned as a public-private partnership (PPP) model.
Lack of adequate veterinary clinics in the villages, shortage of staff and concern for cattle are the main reasons for the service. There is a severe shortage of veterinary doctors in the state, a staggering 942. Recently, animal husbandry minister Revu Naik Belamagi said the government would fill up 487 posts during 2010-11.

The ambulance will have a veterinary doctor and a technical assistant with a bag of emergency medicines. To help farmers, a round-the-clock call centre would be part of the scheme. The 50 ambulances being mobilized this year will be deployed in 50 taluks.

As per the 2007 livestock census, the state's cattle population is about 1.5 crore and there are about 43 lakh buffaloes. The state has about 1 crore sheep, 60 lakh goats and over 4 crore poultry.

Amruta Ubale
Education Officer
Beauty Without Cruelty - India

Courtesy AAPN: Volunteers needed for World Farm Animals Day on 2nd Oct nationwide

• Courtesy aapn: Volunteers Needed for World Farm Animals Day in October‏

Join caring people around the globe to provide a much-needed voice for
animals raised for food!

World Farm Animals Day takes place on or around October 2nd. It is a day
dedicated to exposing, mourning, and memorializing the needless
suffering and slaughter of the more than 58 billion cows, pigs, turkeys,
chickens, and other sentient animals brutalized and killed in the
world's farms and slaughterhouses.

We are looking for volunteers to organize activities locally. Activities
range from creative, attention-grabbing events to simple outreach:
vigils, memorial services, funeral marches, cage-ins, die-ins, video
screenings, information tables, exhibits, leafleting, and more.

We’ll send you free display materials, handouts, DVDs, and more… just
let us know your plans.

You can also help us spread the word online by exchanging web banners
and adding us as a friend on Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter.

Visit www.WFAD.org/actioncenter to find out more.

Thanks for caring,
Michael A. Weber, Program Director
Michael@farmusa.org
www.WorldFarmAnimalsDay.org

P.S. If you missed the Animal Rights 2010 National Conference, check
out the report with photos at www.ARConference.org


World Farm Animals Day is a campaign of FARM (Farm Animal Rights
Movement), a non-profit advocacy organization promoting vegan diets to
save animals, reduce global warming, conserve environmental resources,
and improve public health.

Courtesy AAPN/Dr Chinny Krshna (Blue Cross of India):New proposed Animal Welfare Act

Courtesy AAPN/Dr Chinny Krshna (Blue Cross of India):New proposed Animal Welfare Act

The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, the only private
member's bill accepted by the government in history of independent
India.

Though most people are under the impression that the PCA Act of 1960 was
a private member's bill, the truth is that the initial proposal for a
comprehensive bill for the prevention of cruelty to animals was indeed
such a bill brought in by Rajya Sabha (Upper House) member,
Mrs. Rukmini Devi Arundale in 1956. After the first reading of this
Bill, the then Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru felt that this
was a most
important and necessary piece of legislation and it would, therefore,
be fitting that the Bill be brought in by the Government.

He requested Rukmini Devi to withdraw her Bill and said an identically
worded Bill would be introduced by the Government. Rukmini Devi
magnanimously agreed to do so and withdrew her Bill and Nehru's
government brought in the Bill that was passed and became the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, (59 0f 1960).

The new proposed Animal Welfare Act will primarily remove the short
comings of the present PCA Act and its amendments, especially in the
area of penalties for breaking the law.

Such an amended law has been in the works for well over 20 years and it
is most heartening that Mr. Jairam Ramesh has taken up a series of
fresh legislation in various aspects of animal welfare and wildlife.

Dr. S. Chinny Krishna
Chairman
Blue Cross of India

Courtesy AAPN: New law to protect animals

Subject: [aapn] (IN) New law to protect animals

http://www.hindustantimes.com/New-law-to-protect-animals/Article1-585423.aspx

India will soon get a new law for animal welfare in place of the existing law protecting them against cruelty. "We will have a new comprehensive law for animal welfare prescribing steep penalties for cruelty against the animals," Environment and Forest minister Jairam Ramesh said. The existing penalty for cruelty against animals is only R50 prescribed in the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, the only private member's bill accepted by the government in history of independent India.

In the proposed law, the environment ministry is likely to recommend measures for authorities and animal keepers to ensure their welfare.

A few such regulation have already been intended through draft notification of rules on Breeding of dogs and fishes and regulations for pet shops.

Ramesh agreed with animal rights activist and Lok Sabha member Maneka Gandhi that the existing penalty was not adequate and had not acted as deterrent against cruelty to animals.

To check this, the ministry will also be sending an advisory to state governments to prevent animal sacrifice during Dusherra festival.

"We will definitely sent an advisory asking states to ban animal sacrifice as done in some states," the minister said in Lok Sabha.

Six states in India have banned animal sacrifice during festivals.

Ramesh also brushed aside claims by RJD leader Lalu Prasad that animal festivals like those in Bihar was promoting business of animals. "It is matter of shame the way elephants are treated and traded in these festivals," Ramesh said.

Amruta Ubale
Education Officer
Beauty Without Cruelty - India

Courtesy AAPN/SOFA: SOFA KANDY news letter

Courtesy AAPN/SOFA Kandy news letter

For a long while again we were completely immersed in our day to day problems with too many dogs around and could not find a free minute to let you know what's going on in Kandy. Our main problem, causing much pain to many pet-owners too, not only in Kandy, but everywhere in Sri Lanka, for the first few months of this year was the distemper-epidemic. We lost many young lives and some adults too and spent huge amounts on drugs to save those, which did get early signs, to prevent a full-fledged out-break. Probably the heat during this year's dry season has made things worse...!?? Whatever the reason may be, fact is, that we have never witnessed such a wide-spread and long-lasting distemper-epidemic before, we remember occasional localized out-breaks, which were contained within a couple of weeks. What happened this year, sweeping down from the north to the south of Sri Lanka was a wild-fire of the deadly virus, affecting not only the unvaccinated strays and the pets of the poor, but quite a few vaccinated dogs caught it too, which makes us think about the cool-chain, which is essential for vaccines to work. Vets call it vaccine-failure and leave it at that, but it may have something to do with irresponsible importers, pharmacies and clinics. To add to the pain of the infected dogs and their owners, vets in Sri Lanka usually show no compassion when the disease has come to a stage, in which it is hundred percent certain, that there is no recovery possible: misunderstood Buddhist teachings prevent them from relieving the animals of the horrific last stage of the disease.

At this moment our shelter and foster-homes are free from distemper, but in Kandy and in the villages too we still notice infected animals, so we are also not yet on the safe side, because every time we catch a dog to get her sterilized, a possibility exists, that she may incubate the virus and have a break-out after surgery due to the temporary weakness of the immune-system. Of course we keep these dogs separate from the shelter-dogs, but air-born viruses are hard to control.

Right now 46 puppies at the shelter live a happy life alongside 58 adult animals... hopefully some of the people, who have lost their dogs, will adopt some pups from us. As the location of the shelter is the earlier Municipal dog-pound and located right next to to the Municipal garbage-dump, it is difficult to attract people there to select a pup, so whenever time permits, we offer home-delivery too.

Though recent epidemic has restricted us a bit, we were able to go ahead with our sterilization-work, wherever and whenever it was safe. The total number of dogs and cats spayed/neutered is approximately 17600 now, out of which the great majority is female dogs.

As those who have watched our work for a while may remember, we still have a court-case going on with the Kandy Municipal Council over the killing of dogs. After dragging on the case for a long time, the KMC has recently amended its answer to our appeal. Actually it was not an amendment, but a completely new stand, even claiming the pound back, which was given to us to use it as a transit-home, and asking for damages... completely absurd because the new project going on, planning to transform the garbage-dump into a biogas-plant, involves not only the KMC, but also the University and the ministry or Environment, and these two institutions have already reassured us, that we can stay in those premises until a suitable place for re-location the shelter has been found and re-location-funds have been made available.

The Spay-Program of the Health-Ministry in the Central Province has come to a halt for the last ten months because of an audit-inquiry. A new tender has to be selected, but up to now the program was not re-started. A suggestion of KACPAW to work with vets who are paid a monthly salary rather than paying private vets a certain sum per animal, has been proposed to the Health-Ministry. We agree that this might improve the quality of the surgeries if they are not performed in a big hurry to make quick money; on the other hand the government-sector in all its activities suffers of poor performance because without incentives only a few dedicated individuals work efficiently. Therefore we did not get actively involved in any kind of promotion, but we definitely notice the increase of strays and are unable to catch and sterilize all of them, not only because of financial constraints, but also due to lack of man-power. So we hope the Central Province will get its spay-program running again. Hopefully this time without killing half of the animals in the process.

What happens in the absence of regular spay-clinics we saw in Gampola last week: the Urban Council collected strays from the road and was about to kill them. Fortunately we were informed in time and were able to rescue the dogs this time. During negotiations with the Mayor we were asked to start regular spay-clinics at Gampola again and we promised to do so, even though we still have to find the funds for it.

Therefore please consider to help us with funding more field-clinics in Kandy and Gampola and in all these tiny remote villages, where people have no access to vet-clinics unless we bring the vets to them.

A big thank you to everyone, who has donated so far to make our work possible, and another big thank you to those, who will support us in future, so that we can always say "yes" when someone asks us for a spay-field-clinic, when someone calls us because of puppies dumped on the road or when we receive an emergency-call when a dog got hit by a vehicle.

For more back-ground-information about our work please see http://www.sofakandy.org

Courtesy PAWS:PAWS on MTV YOUNGISTAN

CourtesyFIAPO: Soon, new guidelines for animals in adverts

Soon, new guidelines for animals in adverts

Published: Friday, Aug 13, 2010, 3:16 IST
By Priya Iyengar | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA

Television advertisements featuring animals and birds may soon be a thing of the past. After the latest Volkswagen Polo commercial, which featured the car speeding through a herd of buffaloes and rhinoceros, drew ire from animal lovers, a new set of guidelines on depicting animals in advertisements will be implemented by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI).

The guidelines were formulated by the Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisation (FIAPO), an umbrella organisation working towards animal welfare. In the past, the NGO had requested the ASCI to initiate action against advertisements which showed animals in poor light.

The guidelines state that no unweaned animals be used in advertisements; and bullfighting, cockfighting, fighting between mongooses and snakes, hunting, etc, not be featured in commercials. Also, there should be no confinement of wild, exotic and endangered animals for commercials.

“These are just a few guidelines and we hope advertisers follow them. We are also appreciative of ASCI, which was instrumental in withdrawal of certain advertisements,” said Chinny Krishna, chairman, FIAPO.

The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) had also asked ASCI, a self-regulatory body for advertisements, to regulate the depiction of animals in commercials. The Polo commercial was pulled off air by Volkswagen after protests.

Recently, a series of commercials by a telecom giant, which featured pugs, became very popular. But, animal lovers claimed that the dogs were made to work in hot conditions for a long time and sometimes even beaten up. “Advertisements have a significant influence on peoples’ behaviour. We request you to incorporate our recommendations, so as to ensure that advertisers do not depict violence against living beings and help us save them from being subjected to abuse, pain and suffering,” wrote Maj Gen (Retd) Dr RM Kharb, chairman, AWBI, in his letter to ASCI.

Courtesy FIAPO: International Homeless Animals Day-Deonar Mumbai

• Courtesy FIAPO: International Homeless Animals Day

International Homeless Animals Day 21st August is International Homeless Animals Day and we would like to invite you to join us at IDA Deonar for a few hours on Saturday from 10.30 am to 1.30 pm to spend some time with our animal friends who are still 'homeless'. You will enjoy the visit and so will our animals at the centre. We will have some fun programs for the dogs, just so all of you can get to really meet and appreciate our doggie friends as individuals. You can help these homeless animals feel good on this day by bringing some tid-bits or toys or leashes etc for them. We will make it a fun time for all so that on this one special day, the homeless we care for can enjoy themselves and in the process, each of us can make a pledge to get at least some of these wonderful animals adopted, so they are never 'homeless' again. Hoping to see you there.. Team IDA

Courtesy Dainik Jagran Cityplus (Baishali Mishra):Love them;don't kill them-Citizen initiative to sterilize stray dogs

Courtesy news, information and entertainmentYour guide to neighbourhood news, information and entertainment

Love them; don't kill them Citizen initiative to sterilize stray dogs Stray dogs have always been a problem not only in Bangalore but all over India. According to the survey done by BBMP, there are more than 2,000 stray dogs in the city. Their number can be brought under check only if they are sterilized. There are many NGOs who are working in this field. They are assigned certain areas to neuter the dogs by the BBMP, but much more still remains to be done if the city is to be made safe from stray dog menace. In spite of complaining and putting blame on the BBMP, people should take the initiative to find a solution to the problem. There are many who complain about stray dogs and want them to be removed, which again is not a solution. So Minu Singh, a resident of Suncity, who is also a dog lover, has initiated a dog vaccination camp. Minu, with some of her friends, organised an ABC Camp (Annual Birth Control Camp) for the sterilization of dogs on Sunday, August 8. The camp was attended by Yasmine Polomski, Minu Singh, Kelly Johnson, Priyanka Hindocha, Vishwanath Rao and Ravi Shankar Pandey of Suncity-Iblur Village, Outer Ring Road. This group is called The Ark - One life Together (Caring for Animals). Doctors from Animal Rights Fund had come for the ABC camp. There were also many volunteers. The programme started with the catching of dogs for sterilization. Before that they had to identify the sterilized and non-sterilized ones. "The dogs that are vaccinated have a notch in one of the ears. Leaving them, the others have to be caught," said Minu. The normal method of catching is to tie a net into a loop and trap the dog. In this method the dog gets angry and suffocates itself. Instead, they tried catching the dog by being friendly to them, offering them biscuits and then carrying them for sterilization, which worked. "With a little love and patience, the dogs are all yours," said Minu. This area was chosen for the camp, because there are many stray dogs here that are still not sterilized or neutered and are consequently attracting the resentment of the local residents. A few months ago, an old woman was attacked by six dogs when she was taking a walk at the Iblur Park early morning. Not only that. There has been an instance of an infant having being killed by a dog. And of course everybody must have experienced the stray dogs running behind their vehicles an almost pouncing on them. "The ABC camp was set up in order to end these activities, so that people are aware that killing stray dogs is not the solution. We can take the initiative to sterilize them and behave with them in a friendly manner so that the dogs become our friends, not enemies," said Minu. —Baishali Mishra

Successful 2nd ABC(Animal Birth Control) camp for stray dogs_Ibblur village B'lore_08th Aug 10

This 2nd ABC (Animal Birth Control) Camp for Stray dogs is dedicated to my dear friend & fervent animal lover Kelly Johnson. It was a roaring success. We managed to sterilize/neuter 41 dogs! A big THANK YOU to all the wonderful people who helped us making the camp a success!

Pls help us spreading the word, raising funds and/or joining us for our next ABC camp in B'lore.

For any further questions, pls get in touch with me:yasminedpolomski@live.com.

We're also on Facebook: The Ark-One Life Together (Caring for Animals):http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=119410614772231

Thanks a million for your wonderful support & help:-)

Courtesy The Hindu-Metro Plus Bangalore (Tuesday, 03rd Aug 2010)

Courtesy The Hindu-Metro Plus Bangalore (Tuesday, 3rd Aug 2010)

BOW WOW

Animal Birth Control Camp on Sunday

What better way to ensure human safety and prevent suffering of animals than to put an end to births on the streets? Through Animal Birth Control (ABC), the unchecked growth in the homeless dog population will be stopped permanently. This will soon lead to fewer dogs on the streets and in many cases, reduce aggression in dogs due to resultant biological changes. It's a win-win for humans and animals, and Yasmine D. Polomski is making an important contribution in this regard.

Polomski and her friends are independently organizing a birth control camp for street dogs this Sunday in Suncity Village, Outer Ring Road. The group members decided to take on this responsibility when they saw overburdened NGOs embark on this mission across the city. The camp will involve spaying/neutering dogs, educating residents on effective population management and creating a safe environment for both humans and animals. Polomski's foresight in arresting the dog population and educating citizens on their role in this process will give a much-needed boost to India's goal of becoming a no-birth nation.

A long-term fix for the population problem includes adoption of puppies and dogs from shelters and avoiding breeders. In the meantime, these proactive groups are doing their part. “In the future, we're planning to organize ABC camps in other areas in Bangalore where there's an urgent need. This is only the beginning”, says Polomski.

People who support the cruelty-free, no-birth Bangalore campaign can contribute through donations in cash or kind.

For more information, contact Yasmine Polomski at yasminedpolomski@live.com or 9663700264.

Thanks:-)!

Courtesy Bangalore Mirror:BBMP runs after dogs at night

BBMP runs after dogs at night

Courtesy: Bangalore Mirror.

Tired of protesting residents, dog-catchers will now hunt strays for sterilisation when people are asleep.

If you’re the kind who can’t get sleep when street dogs bark, your life is about to get worse with louder howls, yelps and growls.

BBMP is planning a midnight assault to catch and sterilise stray dogs because residents hamper their efforts during the day.

Mayor S K Nataraj said, “Normally, the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) personnel work during the day, but dog-catching becomes tough as dog-lovers unnecessarily argue with our men and do not allow them to catch the dogs. They resist even when they are told that dogs will only be sterilised and not culled. That is why we are thinking of catching stray dogs at night when people are asleep.”

According to a conservative estimate by the BBMP, there are about 2.5 lakh stray dogs in the city and a majority needs sterilisation and vaccination for rabies.

There have been several instances of dog attacks on people, the last major case being that of four-year-old Geetha who was attacked while playing near her residence in Chandra Layout a few weeks ago.

Job will get easier

BBMP officials expect the midnight operation to be easy for other reasons as well. Dr Parvez Ahmad Piran, BBMP joint director (animal husbandry), told Bangalore Mirror, “At night, there will be less traffic on the roads and dogs will not be able to hide under lorries and other vehicles to escape the dog-catchers. Also, dogs congregate at one place at night.”

Two Non Governmental Organisations from Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh are interested in tackling the dog menace.

The file is before the BBMP finance committee for approval. Tenders will be awarded after discussions in the Council.

Other measures

The BBMP also plans to increase Animal Birth Control (ABC) initiatives in old CMC areas which are now a part of greater Bangalore. The BBMP earmarks crores of rupees to sterilise stray dogs but funds are not used satisfactorily. Last year, 2,909 cases of stray dog bites were reported in the city. There were more than 9,600 cases in 2008 and more than 500 cases in the last seven months.

Residents resist even when they are told that dogs will only be sterilised, not culled
S K Nataraj mayor, BBMP