Against Animal Cruelty

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Bakr-Eid: what happens to the goat?

This is one of the goats that would be sacrificed during this Bakr-EId. This photo was clicked while walking through the narrow bylanes of Chawri Bazaar in Old Delhi (Photo credit: Jaagruti)

Before you begin reading this, please allow us a moment to introduce Meera Ahmad (the contributor of the below post) to all of you.

Meera is a Ph.D student at University of Delhi and lives with her mother, brother Kabir and her canine companions in Nizamuddin. Meera is secular by birth, born to a Hindu mother and a Muslim father, her home is lovingly referred to as ‘Chintu Ghar’, the first time I visited her, I thought Chintu was the name of their first pet, but infact as Meera’s mother amusingly shared Chintu was their stuffed toy ‘Elephant’ whom they cuddled and cared for and were even willing to risk their lives for! (yes! yes! that is what Meera’s brother Kabir tried to do, when he jumped from the auto-rikshaw thinking that Chintu was in the bag that had fallen from her mother’s lap on the road). Perhaps it was Chintu, the elephant toy that made them realise that before they realised that their heart was filled with love for animals. Meera and her family look after and feed the many street dogs in Nizamuddin and at Lajpat Nagar as well, besides taking the responsibility of getting them sterilized and vaccinated at nearby animal hospitals.

When she saw a man taking his sick goat to an animal hospital yesterday, she was prompted to reflect over her thoughts on Bakr-Eid. Read on…

Bakr-Eid: what happens to the goat?

By Meera Ahmad

Yesterday, a man from my colony in Nizamuddin West took a sick goat to the nearby Friendicoes Animal Hospital

He said to the doctor: ” Please treat my goat so that it becomes well quickly. I have to cut it day after tomorrow.”

Animal sacrifice is the biggest farce and misplaced superstitious belief in the name of religion.

Today (17th November, 2010) is the first day of three days of Bakr-Eid or Eid al-Adha or Eid-e-Qurban. For Muslims it is a day to celebrate how Prophet Ibraham willingly almost sacrificed his own son Isma’il as an act of obedience to God, before God intervened and gave him a ram to sacrifice instead. To commemorate it Muslim families blindly sacrifice many animals (goat, cow, sheep, camel) on this day often after days of feeding and caring for them extremely well. The act of sacrifice carried out in Muslim homes is extremely cruel as the goats are killed slowly in front of each other by the very people who fed and nurtured them and whom they came to trust deeply. Children too are encouraged to cut them on these days from a very young age so that they become conditioned to it.

In my colony a few weeks before the festival it is common to see children roaming about with healthy and well nurtured goats and grazing them in the parks and bylanes. After the sacrifice I have spoken to them and they comfortably and eagerly narrate gory details of how they carried out halal (religiously permissible form of sacrifice in which the animal’s throat is slit to slowly bleed it death so that it is drained of all the blood before being skinned and cut) of the goats.

So deeply engrained becomes the notion of halal in them that they even practice it on toys and stuffed animals. In an extreme case I remember hearing that a child slit the throat of his pet rabbit. When his mother came running on hearing the wails of the poor animal and asked the child why he did it he said proudly that he had done halal. My neighbor’s young daughter who studies in class 2 was last year wailing uncontrollably outside her house on Bakr-Eid for she wanted to cajole her father to let her keep the baby goat that he had brought for sacrifice and not let it be killed. When her father asked her the reason for it she said she wanted to play with it and make it her pet. However, her tantrums didn’t have any effect. A few ays back when I saw her roaming in the park with a goat on leash I could not resist asking her what she would do with it. She said that she would do it halal. Her father had convinced her that the goats that are done halal on these days are fortunate as they go straight to God (Allah).

That the animals are alive and moving for quite sometime after their throats are cut and while they are being skinned was pointed out to me by children who have witnessed and participated in the sacrifice.The goats that are to be cut on the following days are kept in the same place where their fellows were cut, skinned and hung in front of their eyes. They kick and cry loudly for days and nights before the sacrifice, but once the killing begins they go eeringly quiet. It is as if the face of imminent death makes them mum. A look at their faces and in their eyes chills the soul. I have always felt it is a look of resignation, dullness and deep gloom.

“The mullah finishes the prayer. Ameen. He picks up the kichen knife with the long blade. The custom is to not let the sheep see the kinife. Ali feeds the animal a cube of sugar – another custom, to make eath sweeter. The sheep kicks, but not much. The mullah grabs it under its jaw and places the blade on its neck. Just a second before he slices the throat in one expert motion, I see the sheep’s eyes. It is alook that will haunt my dreams for weeks. I don’t know why I watchj this yearly ritual in ou backyard; my nightmares persist long after the blood stains on the grass have faded. But I always watch. I watch because of that look of acceptance in the animal’s eyes. Absurdly, I imagine tha animal understands. I imagine the animal sees that its imminent demise is for a higher purpose. This is the look……..” -Khaled Hosseni, The Kiterunner.

Nature provides food to goats, cows, sheep so they can live well. Humans provide food to them so they can kill and cut them. Nature provides food to goats, cows, sheep so they can live well. Humans provide food to them so they can kill and cut them. If we really love our earth and want it to be a comfortable place for future generations, we all need to start reflecting on our daily decisions. How we live. What we eat. What we buy. How and where it is made. How we travel. Everything we habitually do has an impact and also sets an example. One of the most important among these is our relationship with the animals of this planet that should be of compassion and protection. This change may not always be easy or comfortable, but it is certainly better than doing nothing and lamenting later. Let us start by raising our voice against animal sacrifice and slaughter.

kurbaan-kurbaani_goats-before-being-scarificed-on-id_ht-city_281109

Other posts by Meera Ahmad:

Abandoning one’s pet: Could there be a crime bigger than that?

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The ABC of stray dogs

Animal Birth Control: Its as easy as ABC (Image Courtesy PETA)

Animal Birth Control/ABC Programm involves sterilizing street dogs, vaccinating them against rabies and releasing them back into the areas where they were picked up from.

The article below is kind courtesy of  The Pioneer Newspaper, penned by noted senior journalist Mr. Hiranmay Karlekar who is also the author of a book titled ‘Savage Humans and Stray Dogs’, the article sheds light on the ‘ABC’ of Delhi’s Animal Birth Control/ABC Programme, comes in the wake of the Commonwealth Games recently organised in Delhi in which many street canines (sterilized as well as non-sterilized) were temporarily (for the period of these games) relocated to Animal shelters across Delhi and Noida from many games venues, stadia, hotels, all of whom have now been released back into the areas where they were picked up from (and those canines that were not sterilized were also sterilized in the process and vaccinated against Rabies at the shelters/hospitals they were housed at prior to being released back to their homes). There is a whole scientific basis and reasoning behind doing so and that is what Mr. Karlekar enlightens us all on below. If you still have doubts, drop in a comment underneath or mail us at contact@jaagruti.org

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The Pioneer EDITS | Saturday, October 23, 2010, By Hiranmay Karlekar

It’s a fallacy to believe that killing street dogs will bring down their numbers. But sterilising them helps in reducing and stabilising their population

According to a report, the Mayor of Delhi has said in an interview to a news channel that the national capital’s stray dogs, which had been removed from their habitats for the duration of the Commonwealth Games, should be killed or kept where they had been taken. He, however, has also reportedly said on television that it was inhuman to kill dogs. I have neither heard either statement nor talked to him. I will, therefore, not go into what he did or did not say. Nor will I criticise him on that account. Instead, I would focus on the issues in question.

Animal Birth Control (Dog) Rules, notified in December 2001 under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (1960), prohibits the killing of stray dogs except in special cases, as when they are rabid or terminally ill. In these too, prescribed procedures have to be followed. Besides, the Rules provide that stray dogs can only be removed from their habitats for neutering and immunisation against rabies. Both done, they have to be returned to places from which they had been taken.

The Rules prescribe the only scientific — and also humane — way of controlling stray dog populations. Killing or removal has not helped anywhere. Dr K Vogel, Chief Veterinary, Public Health, Division of Communicable Diseases, World Health Organisation, and Mr John Hoyt, then President, World Society for the Protection of Animals, made this clear in their joint preface to the Guidelines for Dog Population Management, released by the WHO and WSPA in May 1990. They stated, “All too often, authorities confronted by problems caused by these (stray) dogs have turned to mass destruction in the hope of finding a quick solution, only to find that the destruction had to continue year after year, with no end in sight.”

In its Eighth Report (WHO Technical Report Series 824), WHO’s Expert Committee on Rabies, which met in Geneva from September 24 to 30, stated, “There is no evidence that the removal of dogs has ever had a significant impact on dog population densities and the spread of rabies. The population turnover of dogs may be so high that even the highest recorded removal rates (about 15 per cent of the dog population) are easily compensated by survival rates.” This has been conclusively established in Delhi. In his “Dogs and Dog Control in Developing Countries”, published in The State of Animals 2005, Dr JF Reese writes, “In Delhi, a concerted effort (pre-Animal Birth Control, or ABC) at dog removal killed a third of the straying dogs with no reduction in dog population.”

It has been the same experience everywhere. In his paper, “ABC responsible for decline in human rabies cases”, Dr Chinny Krishna, co-founder and chairman of the Blue Cross Society of India, cites the instance of Madras Corporation’s catch-and-kill programme that began in 1860. He quotes Mr Theodore Bhaskaran, a retired Post Master-General, as stating in an article, “In the 1970s the number of stray dogs destroyed by the corporation was so high that the Central Leather Institute, Madras, designed products —such as neckties and wallets — from dog skins.” Dr Krishna has pointed out elsewhere that the number of dogs killed by the corporation had gone up to 30,000 per year by 1995. Yet the city’s stray dog population and the incidence of rabies continued to increase.

Why does killing or removal not help? According to the Guidelines for Dog Population Management, each habitat has “a specific carrying capacity for each species”, which “essentially depends on the availability, quality and distribution of the resources (shelter, food, water) for the species concerned. The density of population for higher vertebrates (including dogs) is almost always near the carrying capacity of the environment. Any reduction in the population density through additional mortality is rapidly compensated by better reproduction and survival.”

The argument that such a situation will not arise if all stray dogs in a city or country are killed at one go, holds little water. Nowhere has such a venture succeeded. Besides, dogs are territorial. Dogs from one area do not allow those from other areas to enter their areas. Dogs from other areas will occupy any area in which all stray dogs have been massacred. This territorial character of dogs lies at the heart of the ABC programme. With sterilised and vaccinated dogs keeping un-sterilised and un-vaccinated dogs away from their areas, those implementing the programme can concentrate on progressing area by area until a whole city is covered. Otherwise, they will have to keep returning to areas where they had already been with the stray dog population continuing to grow elsewhere.

Significantly, WHO’s Expert Consultation on Rabies, held in Geneva from October 5 to 8, 2004, had stated (WHO: Technical Report Series 824), “Since the 1960s, ABC programmes coupled with rabies vaccination have been advocated as a method to control urban street male and female dog populations and ultimately human rabies in Asia The rationale is to reduce the dog population turnover as well as the number of dogs susceptible to rabies in Asia and limit aspects of male dog behaviour (such as dispersal and fighting) that facilitate the spread of rabies.”

Delhi has had a reasonably successful ABC programme since 2003. Between 40 and 50 per cent of the dogs removed from the Commonwealth Games sites to the care of NGOs were found neutered. At this rate the target of 70 per cent, required to stabilise and then gradually bring down stray dog populations, should be reached in the next few years. Meanwhile, one needs to congratulate the Government and Municipal Corporation of Delhi, the New Delhi Municipal Council and NGOs like Friendicoes, Cure & Care, Sonadi, PAWS and Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care Centre and SPCA NOIDA for the manner in which they temporarily relocated and looked after around 700 dogs. The glitches that occurred were perhaps inevitable in an exercise of the magnitude undertaken. While Mr Rakesh Mehta, Chief Secretary of Delhi, and Mr KS Mehra, Commissioner of MCD, cut through all bureaucratic red tape to promptly take the big decisions, Dr RBS Tyagi and Dr Alok Agarwal of MCD and Dr Dinesh Yadav of NDMC worked tirelessly, almost round-the-clock. Animal lovers throughout India need to warmly applaud all of them.

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15 reasons to adopt an older dog

This post is kind courtesy of  Luigi Aero‘s Facebook Page

"Blessed is the person who has earned the love of an old dog."- Sydney Jeanne Seward

One of the saddest things is an old dog left in a shelter by an uncaring human family. Common excuses people use are that they don’t have enough time for the dogs or that they are moving (although I have never heard of any state in the U.S. where dogs are illegal). In this disposable society we live in, some people actually dump their family dog in a shelter and walk out with a new puppy.  Imagine the fear, sadness and confusion that an old shelter dog faces.Even worse, their time in the shelter is spent watching people walk past their cages, barely seeing them, instead rushing to the cute puppies.

 

Why would anyone consider sharing their home with an older dog, when there are so many younger ones available?

By adopting an older dog, you can make a statement about compassion and the value of all life at all ages, as well as register a protest against the indiscriminate and inhumane breeding of dogs, whether it is for profit or to “teach the children about birth.” And, of course, just as a puppy has his whole life ahead of him, so does an older dog have the rest of his life in front of him. You can give that older dog the best years of his life while at the same time bringing a wonderful addition into your family.

 

 

1. What You See Is What You Get

 

Older dogs are open books—from the start, you’ll know important things like their full-grown size, personality and grooming requirements. All this information makes it easier to pick the right dog and forge that instant love connection that will last a lifetime. If you’re not so into surprises, an older dog is for you!

 

2. Easy to Train

 

Think you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? Hogwash! Older dogs are great at focusing on you—and on the task at hand—because they’re calmer than youngsters. Plus, all those years of experience reading humans can help them quickly figure out how to do what you’re asking.

 

3. Seniors are Super-Loving

 

these dogs give you—and those of you who adopted dogs already in their golden years told us how devoted and grateful they are. It’s an instant bond that cannot be topped!

 

4. They’re Not a 24-7 Job

 

Grownup dogs don’t require the constant monitoring puppies do, leaving you with more freedom to do your own thing. If you have young children, or just value your “me time,” this is definitely a bonus.

 

5. They Settle in Quickly

 

Older dogs have been around the block and already learned what it takes to get along with others and become part of a pack.They’ll be part of the family in no time!

 

6. Fewer Messes

 

Your floors, shoes and furniture will thank you for adopting a senior pooch! Older dogs are likely to already be housetrained—and even if they’re not, they have the physical and mental abilities to pick it up really fast (unlike puppies). With their teething years far behind them, seniors also are much less likely to be destructive chewers.

 

7. You Won’t Bite Off More Than You Can Chew

 

There are those who yearn for a doggie friend of their own, but hold back because they worry what might happen in their lives in the years to come. And they are wise to do so—a puppy or young dog can be anywhere from an 8- to 20-year responsibility, which is not appropriate for the very elderly or those with certain long-term future plans. Providing a loving home for a dog in her golden years is not a less serious commitment, but it can be a shorter one.

 

8. They Enjoy Easy Livin’

 

Couch potato, know thyself! Please consider a canine retiree rather than a high-energy young dog who will run you ragged. Not that older dogs don’t require any exercise—they do—but they’re not going to need, or want, to run a marathon every day.

 

9. A good night’s sleep

 

Older dogs let you get a good night’s sleep because they’re accustomed to human schedules and don’t generally need nighttime feedings, comforting, or bathroom breaks.

 

10. Time for yourself –

 

Older dogs leave you time for yourself, because they don’t make the kinds of demands on your time and attention that puppies and young dogs do.

 

11. Companionship.

 

Senior dogs whose lives have been disrupted in their later years have so much love to give and like nothing better than giving it. They tend to rely heavily on their owner for companionship and therefore bond very quickly. The desire to reciprocate the companionship given to them is very strong.

 

12. Seniors for seniors.

 

An attractive concept used by many animal rescue/humane organizations, an older dog can be successfully matched up with a senior citizen. Lifestyle requirements of an older person often mix well with the lifestyle of an older dog. It’s a win/win situation, resulting in quality retirement companionship for both.

 

13. Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?

 

You sure can. While it may take an older dog a bit longer to adjust to new situations, they can; they will; they do. Their only requirement is to be given the opportunity. Generally, older dogs are calmer and therefore will focus much easier on what you are trying to teach them.

 

14. Save a Life, Be a Hero

 

At shelters, older dogs are often the last to be adopted and the first to be euthanized. Saving an animal’s life offers an unparalleled emotional return on your investment, and you’ll feel the rewards every day you spend together.

 

15. They’re CUTE!

 

Need I say more?

 

Please consider adopting a senior dog , you won’t be sorry. Your decision to adopt a senior pet will be rewarded with unconditional love and devotion..

 

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Commonwealth Games and Street Dogs- Part 2

For a background or part 1 of this story on Commonwealth Games (Delhi, 2010) and street dogs, kindly click here and then read on below

On 5th October, 2010, the Animal Welfare Board of India wrote to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to apprise them of the fact that the  Continued (temporary) removal of stray dogs by the municipal agencies from Commonwealth Games venues is turning out to be ‘COUNTER PRODUCTIVE’.

To understand how random displacement of street dogs can turn counter-productive, please read the letter from AWBI mentioned above by clicking on the image below:

Following this letter, a website ‘www.cwgdogs.in‘ has been launched to help find your missing/caught street Dogs during the Commonwealth Games ‘dog catching’ spree.

If you are one of those missing your friendly neighbourhood canine on the street – please identify them from the photographs posted on this website, contact these shelters and get them back to their homes for that is where they belong.

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Commonwealth Games and Street Dogs

 

(Courtesy: Associated Press, http://oneclick.indiatimes.com)

 

After the news of the report submitted by Commonwealth Games Federation President and CEO was made public by the electronic media early this week,  it was apparently qouted and shown in the photographs submitted by the committee that, “there were pug marks of street dogs on the mattresses in the apartments of the games villages that are due to host the athletes as well as their faeces littered in the Games village”.

Since people in foriegn countries are not used to co-existing with dogs the way we Indians are, the CWG commitee had expressed their concern regarding the presence of street dogs in the Games village and asked for their removal.

But as per the Indian Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960, Delhi High Court orders and orders of the Supreme Court, the street dogs from any area can be removed only for sterilization and vaccination purposes and then they have to be released back into the same area from where they were picked up.

Thus, due to the timely intervention of Major General (Retd) Dr. R.M Kharb, Chairperson, Animal Welfare Board of India and Mr. Hiranmay Karlekar, Member, Animal Welfare Board of India and the pro-active humane outlook adopted by the Commissioner of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Mr. K.S Mehra, IAS and the Chief Secretary, Government of Delhi Government, Mr. Rakesh Mehta, IAS- the street dogs living in and around the venues earmarked for the Commonwealth Games, 2010- have got a reprieve and in the process India has set an example in front of the other countries of the world with regard to humane treatment of street animals and has also in the process respected its own laws and India’s constitution.

Now the task of picking them up and looking after them till the period of the Games has been entrusted into the hands of SPCA Noida, Cure n Care, Sonadi Animal Care Hospital Friendicoes SECA, an NGO based out of South Delhi, who will be housing them at their South Delhi, Ghazipur and Gurgaon centres where each dog will be given a token with details of the area from where it was picked up.

Volunteers and food are invited by all these NGOs to help in tagging and feeding of the dogs coming in every day and also for helping release them back into their respective territories after the games get over. However, please remember to contact these respective shelters prior to going in there (The contact numbers of all these shelters can be accessed here).

In the interim period, if these dogs will are sterilized and vaccinated by the NGO, then that would be an added bonus for these dogs and the city.

Click on the thumbnails below to read the communication issued by Animal Welfare Board of India’s Chairperson to the Commissioner, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD):

Below is the news in today’s Times of India with regard to this initiative and here is the link to today’s online news on this subject.

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Abandoning one’s pet: Could there be a crime bigger than that?

Such scenes are an everday occurence all around many cities across the world.

People buy pets, some even pamper them BUT then dump them on the road, at a city shelter in their old age-at an age when they need them the most.

Next time you see someone abandoning them, try telling them: “FOR YOU HE IS A DOG, BUT FOR THAT DOG YOU ARE EVERYTHING”. If nothing else, at least you could try and guilt such people into shame for there could be nothing more inhuman than that act of abandoning one’s best friend.

Never abandon your pets! (Courtesy: http://blog.thewaterdish.com.sg)

Instead of heartlessly abandoning one’s pet at a ripe old age at a city shelter, we would rather advocate that you have a heart and put your pet to sleep, atleast that would save that speechless animal a life of agony and stress at the thought of having been separated from those he considered his very own family for all the years that he has lived thus far

The words below penned by Meera Ahmad speak on the agony of  a pet being abandoned, being dumped at a city shelter by its heartless owners.

Just visualize the people come in their car, the dog feels he is going for just another car ride….they take him out on the road, he thinks it is just another lovely walk, the dog trots excitedly beside them like he has done all these years looking up to them as his guardians…

Unknowing to their unsuspecting dog, they look for a place to dump him, soon they find one, the kid feels weird being tied at a strange lonely unfamiliar road….whines and tugs hard….his eyes turn large with an unknown fear, ears drop still his tail wags beacuse he can still see the people he loves….till they walk away, like a streak they speed away…not looking back even once…the kid starts yelping barking like mad, tugging at the leash for his dear life so hard that it strangles his neck, till he drops limply as if he was dead….had he got free he would have raced to catch them up trying to overtake the car it would have run and run, till it would have stumbled sore and spent…now it lies limply in the dust…

Will you do this to someone you really love?

What is more disturbing is that if they could do this to their dog after having him for ten odd years God only knows how they would have kept him in those years…for I am mighty sure of one thing that they couldn’t have loved him as a dog deserves to be leave alone thinking of him as their family member or kid.

It is as ghastly as dumping your old parents in a old age home. Stll that dog of theirs would never stop loving them..never give up on them or let go…he will keep waiting for them till his last breath..everytime he hears a car in the shelter he will think they have come for him..just like the parents in the old age homes…the widowed mothers packed off on trains to holy places like Vrindavan until they breath their last.

Remember,  what goes around comes around, so don’t do onto others what you don’t wish others to do to you!

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For reporting animal cruelty cases: How to approach the police for help?

What comprises Animal Cruelty?

Contacting the Police on the Phone:
In an emergency situation telephone your local police station or dial 100 (Central Police Control Room) Get your “Ticket number” if you have dialled 100. Get the name and designation of the police personnel if you have called your local police station. Note the date and time on both occasions. If you wish to remain anonymous you do not need to reveal your identity.

At the Police Station:
i) Approach the police (above the rank of constable) politely and briefly explain the situation.

ii) Request them to take action against the offender.

iii) If they state it is not their job to protect animals as there are far too many human problems, politely enlighten them about their role in the PCA Act, 1960 (quote the relevant sections). If in Delhi, do tell them about the Delhi Police Act, 1978 Chapter IX entitled “the Prevention of Cruelty to animal”.

iv) Refer to http://awbi.org/awbi-pdf/apl.pdf for a compendium/factsheet of Animal Protection laws for the guidance of Police, NGOs, Animal Welfare Activists and Officers.

v) Insist on their involvement and offer your help.

vi) Inform them that the injured or distressed animal shelter and not left at the police station. This will reassure them.

vii) File an FIR if necessary.

viii) Do the necessary follow up.

ix) Do praise him/her after his involvement, no matter how small.

HOW TO FILE AN F.I.R. (FIRST INFORMATION REPORT):

• FIRs are filed at your local police station when you wish to put down in record an incident which you wish to bring to the notice of your local police and at the same time seek their help in solving it. (eg. loss of wallet, train ticket, incident, or any other loss).

• Make out a detailed description of the lost animal/incident with a photograph/s (or any cruelty complaint). Address it: to the SHO (Station House Officer), of your area.

• To file an FIR, write the facts on a plain piece of paper which you yourself may prepare in duplicate, with the date, your name and address, details of the complaint and the people involved, if any.

• The officer on duty at the police station is responsible for making all the necessary entries.

• The copy of the FIR should be duly signed, stamped and dated (note the time as well) by the police station which you should keep safely.

• This is applicable not only to lost animals, but to any animal you have found (which might be lost), cruelty to animals, illegal activities with regard to animals eg. trade in wildlife-bird sellers, snake charmers, turtle traders; illegal slaughtering of animals and illegal slaughter houses; bird sellers; cruelty to animals in zoos; circuses, pets/petshops etc.

• The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 under section 11 covers a large number of cruelties and offences on the basis of which you could file FIRs.

• Insist on filing an FIR. It is your right. It is important to note that the police usually discourage the complainant from registering a FIR in cases which are not so clear. This is because once the FIR is filed, it becomes the responsibility of the police to ensure a conviction.

• Do not lose the stamped copy (by the officers on duty) of the FIR and keep enquiring about the progress. This copy is the proof that the Police have received the information.

• Please don’t forget about the well-being of the animals, make sure that you also contact an Animal Welfare Organization/activists to ensure that they follow up on the health status, rehabilitation/release of the animals in case custody.

Please share  with us your experiences while dealing with the Police /lodging an F.I.R on animal cases, practical learnings end up being different than what we write here, so please be candid in your sharing for it may help someone at a later date when stuck in a similar situation. Thanks-Vasudha

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‘Bali’ (Animal Sacrifice) in 21st Century India: The Law (Video)

Ready to be sacrificed!

This photo of a ‘young baby goat’ (referred to as a ‘kid’ in proper English language) tied to the side of a temple railing-waiting to be sacrificed was shared with us by Mr. Satish C. Gupta, an Agra resident.  It was clicked on his recent visit to Kamakhya Temple in  Guwahati, Assam.

He also shared with us another photograph clicked at this temple which shows the remnants of a recently sacrificed bird lying on the floor of this temple.

Kamakhya temple, Guwahati (Assam, India)

On the floor: Remnants of a bird sacrificed at this temple

It is strange that in a progressively developing country like India, the practice of sacrificing animals for religious reasons, in the hope that doing so will please the deities and grant a person’s wish! And we learn that Animal Sacrifice is legal in Bengal and Assam, that is why perhaps we see the shots like the ones above from Kamakhya Temple (located in Guwahati, Assam).

To learn more about the practice of Animal Sacrifices in India, their legal angle and what you can do to help stop it, please have a look at the video below.

But there are laws banning animal sacrifices in many states across India and also national laws, and the reason these laws are not being enforced is because the authorities are as ignorant of the laws as much as we are, so this puts all the more responsibility on us to inform people of the laws and inspire them to use them tactfully for the benefit of animals and also share these with the authorities and educate people alike to put an end to the archaic and cruel practice of ‘Animal Sacrifices’.

https://jaagrutiindia.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/copy-of-animal-sacrifices.avi: Save this link please to watch this video.

Below is the list of Indian states where Animal Sacrifice is ILLEGAL:

Tamil Nadu: Tamil Nadu Animals and Birds Sacrifices Prevention Act, 1950

Karnataka: Karnataka Animal Sacrifice Prohibition Act 1959

Gujarat:Gujarat Animals and Birds Sacrifice Prohibition Act, 1972

Andhra Pradesh: Andhra Pradesh Animals and Birds Sacrifices (Prohibition) Act, 1950

Kerala: The Kerala Animals and Birds Sacrifices Prohibition Act, 1968

Rajasthan: The Rajasthan Animals and Birds Sacrifice (Prohibition) Act,1975.

Pondicherry: The Pondicherry Animals and Birds Sacrifices Prohibition Act, 1965

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If you would like to meet a few goats who got sacrificed during last Id celebrations in Delhi on 28th November 2009..scroll below

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11 Street Dogs ‘allegedly’cut & pierced to death: Protest on 7th May’10 at Delhi Jal Board Office in Lajpat Nagar, Delhi

Take Action:

Protest tomorrow i.e 7th May, 2010 (Friday) by animal activists and concerned citizens at 3.30 pm at Delhi Jal Board Office – located at Jal Sadan, Opposite MCD Building, Shiv Mandir Marg , Near Jal Vihar Terminal at Lajpat Nagar-II, Delhi.

This is to demand strong action against those employees/people who are suspected to have rounded up 11 street dogs within the Delhi Jal Board compound and mercilessly cut and pierced them all to death.

Be there!

This gory incident is believed to have transpired in broad daylight on Sunday the 2nd May, 2010, between 2 to 3pm.

For more details of the incident, please click on the thumbnails below to enlarge the copies of the self-explanatory letter sent by Maj Gen (Retd) Dr. Kharb, Chairman AWBI on 5th May, 2010  to the CEO of Delhi Jal Board.

To prompt the officials into taking stern action against the perpetrators of this crime, you can write letters of strong protest to Mr. Ramesh Negi, the C.E.O. of the Delhi Jal  His e-mail address is ceodjb@hotmail.com – and shame him into taking action.

His mailing address is :

Shri Ramesh Negi,  Chief Executive Officer

Delhi Jal Board,

Varunalaya, Phase II, Karol Bagh,

New Delhi-110005

Please mark copies to:

Mr. B.P. Saraswat

Executive Engineer, South IInd

Delhi Jal Board, Jal Sadan Building ,

Near Shiv Mandir, Lajpat Nagar

New Delhi

&

The S.H.O.

Police Station Lajpat Nagar

New Delhi.


For the benefit of those who are unable to download/click open the above image files of AWBI’s letter, the soft copy of the mail sent by Maj Gen (Retd) DR. Kharb, Chairperson, Animal Welfare Board of India to to Mr. Ramesh Neg, CEO, Delhi Jal Board is pasted below:

5th May 2010

To,

Shri Ramesh Negi

Chief Executive Officer

Delhi Jal Board

Varunalaya

Phase II, Karol Bagh,

New Delhi-110005

(ceodjb@hotmail.com )


SUB:  SHOCKING BUTCHERY AT THE JAL BOARD BUILDING AT LAJPAT NAGAR

Dear Sir,

In my capacity as Chairperson of the Animal Welfare Board of India, a statutory body set up under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, I am writing to you to invite your attention to a shocking instance of butchery, and utterly brutal killings of stray dogs at the Jal Board office, Jal Sadan, Lajpat Nagar, on Sunday, the 2ndof May, a little after 2.00 p.m., that has come to light a little while ago.  As information filters out, several agitated residents of Delhi are calling me up and demanding that the perpetrators of the criminal acts be brought to book.

Apparently, on Sunday, the 2nd of May, 2010, between 2 and 3 p.m., when 4 (four) guards, including one Ram Kher, were ostensibly guarding the complex, and 12 (twelve) Delhi Jal Board staff, including one Rakesh, and one Ashok, were on emergency water supply duty, and therefore present at the complex, and some canteen staff were also present, 5 to 6 miscreants easily breached the security and entered the complex ! We have learnt that they were probably from the adjoining Vinoba Puri area. Despite the sensitive nature of the installation – a Delhi Jal Board installation – they were allowed to enter.   Thereafter, in connivance with the 4 guards on duty, and either some or all of the staff on emergency duty, the miscreants, and the guards, and some of the others brutally beat up and cut / chopped 11 community dogs (i.e. stray dogs resident at the complex), to a horribly painful death. Apparently, legs were broken, cuts were inflicted, and bodies pierced with bhalas and other sharp objects, before the poor, hapless animals died. Some dogs, in a desperate bid to escape, ran into the building. However, the guards, and some or all of the 12 staff of duty kicked and beat them out. They were then killed in the gruesome and horribly sub-human manner described above.

The Board has also learnt that thereafter, the flesh and some parts of the body of the poor animals that suffered and died were eaten/kept aside for eating later. Some animal remains were thrown into an adjoining area, and other remains and blood were strewn  over  the  place  at  that  time. What  is  shocking  is that  none  of the persons present called up the police, or even the Number 100, clearly demonstrating that they were all participating in the act. It was only yesterday, and today, that the other employees learnt what had occurred, and informed some Animal Welfare Organizations and the Animal Welfare Board of India.

The Board would have you know that animal cruelty is an offence – under Section 11 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, and Sections 428 and 429 of the Indian Penal Code – punishable with imprisonment and fine. The Animal Welfare Board of India shall of course be lodging a criminal complaint and taking legal recourse ; but I urge you as well to investigate, and take strong action against the employees who connived with the miscreants and perpetrated the heinous crime described above.

Please bear in mind that apart from the shameful slaughter of community dogs that the guards, and some/all of the employees present at the complex on Sunday, the 2nd of May, 2010, resorted to, a sensitive Jal Board installation was breached with impunity! The miscreants could have as easily mixed hazardous substances with water, leading to human casualties / illness.

What has occurred is serious enough to merit your intervention and strong action. Kindly do the needful, and please keep me informed.

Yours Sincerely

(Dr. R.M. Kharb)

Maj.Gen.(Retd.), AVSM

Chairman, AWBI

Copies to:-

Mr. B.P. Saraswat

Executive Engineer, South IInd

Delhi Jal Board, Jal Sadan Building ,

Near Shiv Mandir, Lajpat Nagar

New Delhi

&

The S.H.O.

Police Station Lajpat Nagar

New Delhi.

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What to do when you see an animal being treated cruelly?

Backgrounder on animal laws in India:

“The greatness of a nation is judged by the way it treats its animals”, said Mahatma Gandhi once as he was leading India through the country’s fight for independence from the colonial rulers. But long before animal activism became a global movement and animal laws were enacted in India in their present form, there are pointers that India as a nation has revered nature, its flora and fauna.  The earliest laws of conservation date back to as early as 3rd Century B.C when Emperor Ashoka had banned killing and hunting of all animals in his kingdom. Images depicted in ancient Indian art and wall carvings, the notes and stories mentioned in Indian scriptures and fables like Panchatantra and Hitopdesha, all of these reflect the ethos of conservation and reverence for animals. But as India moves ahead in the rat-race for being a developed country, morals and ethos are being left behind and superseded by an insensitivity and egotistical attitude that is hard to comprehend.

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Stand up against Cruelty to Animals

“Unseen they suffer, unheard they cry

In Agony they linger, in loneliness they die

Does it mean anything to you or anyone who passes by?”

These words penned above epitomize the pain, the suffering that millions of animals endure at the hand of humans every single day.

Though killing or torturing humans is considered to be a crime instantaneously, many amongst us perhaps pay mute witnesses to incidences of animal cruelty happening all around us. The fact is that laws do exist in this country of ours for protection of cruelty towards animals. The main laws are The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 and the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. However few people and even fewer policemen and lawyers are aware of these laws and in the wake of human ignorance on these laws, animals are helpless and fall victims to needs and deeds of humans.

Overloading donkeys with bricks, exhausting the elephant and camels with over riding in a  a mela or at a tourist spot, whipping the horse and the bullock pulling the tonga or the cart, stuffing the cages with chickens in your local meat shop, transporting cattle and livestock one on top of the other in trucks while being taken to slaughterhouses or even treating your pet with neglect- not providing him food or water or chaining him in the sun, killing, maiming beating an animal…each of these acts is an act of animal cruelty under either Section 11 or Section 12 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960 (PCA Act 1960).

PCA Act is a Central Act and is in force throughout the country/Indian territory. There are many rules drafted within this act that look into usage of animals in films i.e performing animal rules, transport of animals rules, rules for prevention of cruelty to draught and farm animals and many more. Though in terms of penal provisions these laws are still weak and in urgent need to be reformed, but that will only happen when public wants or asks for it as the animals themselves will never be able to do so, contrary to the activists who fight battles for laws to protect tribal rights or gay rights for that matter!

Many of you would have seen an overloaded mules or an overloaded bullock/horse cart on the roads every day. Most people prefer to ignore that sight but even when the very few who are aware of animal cruelty laws objects to the ‘owner’ of the animal being ill-treated to not to inflict their animal with cruelty, generally the owner objects loudly in retaliation! The reason behind this marked indifference on part of the ‘owner’ towards the pain and suffering of their very own animal is “because humans treat animals as ‘commodities’ and ‘machines’, something that they have purchased and they now ‘own’…something that they are within their rights to both, use as well as abuse!”, says Anjali Sharma, a senior advocate representing Animal Welfare Board of India.

Below is a list of what every citizen should do when they see someone inflicting cruelty upon animals:

1. Complain to the local state SPCA (Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals)/Animal Welfare Organisations working in your area, though as an entity an NGO can’t enforce the law, but they can put you in touch with an animal activist who deals in filing complaints and bringing attention to such matters with legal or media-based intervention. Importantly, Animal welfare Organisations and Animal hospitals can be contacted to provide relief to the suffering animal.

2. Contact the Police: On a national level, Police are the major enforcement body for the PCA Act 1960. They are obliged to take action against the offender and render help to the suffering animals as per the procedure outlined in the PCA Act when the offence against the animal is amongst those listed in Section 11 or 12 of the PCA Act. Police are even obliged to extend help to the enforcement staff of SPCA as well as ordinary citizens to lodge a complaint/FIR against an incident of animal cruelty. If the Police doesn’t adhere to your complaint, you can also contact the magistrate directly with a written complaint.

One can also lodge a complaint under Section 428 and 429 of the Indian Penal Code of 1860 under which, ‘mischief of killing or maiming an animal amounts to an offence’ and the       offender can be imprisoned for upto five years or a fine or both.

3. Know the law: for example a donkey should be loaded with only 35 kgs of weight at one time; the permissible loading capacity of a truck is 4 buffaloes or 40 sheep/goats. Anything over and above it is technically illegal under the law.

Learn to make a distinction of cognizable and non-cognizable offences outlined in the PCA act 1960. Section 43 of Criminal Procedure Code empowers every citizen the right to perform a ‘citizen’s arrest’ i.e the right to arrest a person who has committed in their presence a ‘cognizable’ offence, an offence for which the offender can be arrested without a warrant.

Cognizable offences under PCA Act 1962 include the following:

a)     Under Section 12 of the PCA Act, 1962, injecting oxytocin injections to cows/milch animals, to improve lactation/milk-giving capacity – which is injurious to health of the animal or permitting such operation to be performed by any other person on the animal he/she ‘owns’ is a cognizable offence. However, this may be one of the most common things that you see used by local legal/illegal dairy owners throughout the country.

b)     Under Section 11(1)(l), mutilating or killing any animal, including stray dogs by using poisoning methods or any other unnecessarily cruel means

c)     Under Section 11(1)(n) organizing/keeping/using any place for animal fighting/baiting and receiving money on the same.

d)     Under Section 11(1)(o), promoting or taking part in any shooting match or competition wherein animals are released from captivity for the purpose of shooting/killing.

4. Documentation is the ‘Key’: In your complaint, be as factual and precise of your observation of the animal crime. Give precise dates, times, locations and photographic evidence if any (while remembering to keep a photocopy with yourself). You are also advised to keep a record of all the officers you are interacting with so that if they don’t listen you can proceed to the next level in the hierarchy to demand justice for the animal/s you are fighting for. Getting a vet’s certificate for the animal in consideration would also prove to be good documentary and supporting evidence.

When reporting animal cruelty, we should look out for the following: Physical condition of the animal, telltale signs of animal cruelty, cruelty during their training and practice, housing (size of cages), overcrowding, mode of transportation, sanitation and hygiene.

5. Stand up, speak up against injustice. Never give up, keep up the effort!

The Indian Constitution, also, under Article 51 A (g) imposes upon every Indian Citizen a fundamental duty to have compassion for all living creatures. But, from subjecting animals to meaningless experiments in cosmetic-testing laboratories to killing one animal in front of the other in an illegal slaughterhouse, from holding cockfights to boiling monitor lizards alive to extract oil from their bodies, mankind does it all and that too shamelessly. It is for us who are aware and informed to keep our comforts aside momentarily and become the voice for these mute, speechless animals as they wage their lonely hopeless battle against the all powerful ‘man’.

What makes cruelty to animals morally unpardonable and unacceptable, over and above human cruelty? Humans can still protest against cruelty meted out to them, they have a voice to raise alarm, hands to hit back. The animals sadly don’t have those options either, so in effect they are defenseless in the face of the cruelty humans mete out to them, be it for their own pleasure, benefit or to fulfill their sadistic desires!

Fyodor Dostoevsky once said that, “no animal could ever be as cruel as a man, so artfully, so artistically cruel.”  One would agree to it as Advocate Anjali Sharma concludes, “Perhaps humans are the worst animals ever born on this planet”.

“I don’t believe in the concept of hell, but if I did, I think it would be filled with humans who are cruel to animals”- Gary Larson

Text: Vasudha Mehta

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कुत्तों के लिए भी संकट बना माओवाद

(Pics Credit and Courtesy: Prashant Ravi/BBC News)

केंद्र सरकार के माओवादियों के खिलाफ छेड़े गए ‘ऑपरेशन ग्रीन हंट’ के चलते, लगभग तीन हफ्ते पहले, पश्चिम बंगाल में पश्चिमी मिदनापुर, लालगढ़, बांकुरा, पुरुलिया और बर्दवान के अनेकों गाँवों में माओवादियों द्वारा एक अनोखा ‘फतवा’ जारी किया गया. इन गाँव में रहने वाले लोगों और आदिवासियों को कहा गया कि ‘वह अपने इलाके के सारे पालतू और सड़क के कुत्तों को मार डालें नहीं तो उन्हें मार दिया जाएगा’.

इसी फतवे के डर से, और अपनी जान बचाने के कारण या तो कई लोगों ने अपने हाथों से अपने द्वारा लाड-प्यार से पाले गए अपने कुत्तों के खाने में ज़हर मिलाकर उन्हें मौत की नींद सुला दिया या फिर बेलपहाड़ी गाँव के निवासी तरुण सेनगुप्ता कि तरह अपने कुत्तों को अपने रिश्तेदारों के पास दूसरे गाँव में भेज दिया. एक तरफ अगर पश्चिम बंगाल के सिलदा गाँव में लगे पुलिस कैंप में दिन-दहाड़े माओवादी हमला कर बीसियों पुलिस वालों को मार-गिरा सकते हैं, तो ऐसे में आखिर गाँव वाले करें भी तो क्या- अपनी जान बचाएं या अपने कुत्तों की?

माओवादी आन्दोलन का जन्म 1967 में पश्चिम बंगाल के ही नक्सलबाड़ी गाँव से शुरू हुआ था जिसने आज इतना आतंकी रूप ले लिया है.  अब सरकार और माओवादियों के बीच में बैर क्यों है, यह तो हममें से कई लोग जानते हैं, पर आखिर पालतू एवं गली के कुत्तों से इन नक्सलियों का क्या बैर है? इसका कारण है सिर्फ एक, अपने इलाके में बसने वाले इंसानों के द्वारा डाले गए भोजन से पलने वाले यह कुत्ते इन गाँव-बस्तियों के गैर-नियुक्त चौकीदार बन गएँ हैं, जो बड़ी वफादारी से अपने इलाके कि बाहरी, असामाजिक तत्वों से सुरक्षा भी करते हैं और इन्हें अपनी बस्तियों के आस-पास होता महसूस कर भौंक उठते हैं. कुत्तों की इसी भौंक से ना केवल गाँव वाले बल्कि इन माओवादियों के खिलाफ जुटी पुलिस और सैन्य बालों के कर्मचारी भी चौकन्ने हो जाते हैं. पिछले महीने में पश्चिम बंगाल में ही हुई ऐसी दो वारदातों के घटते शायद माओवादियों ने ऐसा फतवा जारी किया, क्योंकि अब इन कुत्तों की मौजूदगी इनके लिए घातक साबित हो रही थी. यह दो वारदातें अज्नाशुली और सालबोनी जिलों में हुईं थी, जिसमे कुत्तों के भौंकने से चौकस हुए पुलिस दस्तों ने कई माओवादियों को ढेर कर दिया था.

यह वारदातें अनोखी नहीं हैं. अनेकों बार इंसानों के सबसे वफादार दोस्त माने जाने वाले इन ‘गली के कुत्तों’ ने लोगों को चोर, लुटेरे, आतंकियों से चौकन्ना करने में मदद की है. इसका एक ताज़ा उदाहरण आगरा शहर से भी है. जनवरी महीने में ईदगाह और मोहनपुरा इलाके में दो दिन में 25 से अधिक कुत्ते मारे गए, जांच-पड़ताल करने से सामने आया कि शायद इन कुत्तों को चोरो के एक गुट ने ज़हर देकर मार डाला है, क्योंकि इनके रात को भौंकने कि वजह से वह चोरी नहीं कर पा रहे थे. इस इलाके के निवासियों कि बात माने तो इन कुत्तों के मरने के उपरान्त इस इलाके में चोरी की ढेरों घटनाएं हो चुकी हैं. इन से पहले भी ऐसे कई किस्से सुनने में आयें हैं जब पंजाब और जम्मू-कश्मीर में भी सीमा-पार से घुसने वाले घुसपैठिये और आतंकियों ने अपने डेरे डालने से पहले गाँव के कुत्तों का खात्मा किया है, ताकि वह सेना के जवानों को अपनी भौंक से सचेत ना कर दें…अशांत इलाकों में जमे भारतीय सेना के अनेकों दस्तें अपने कैंप के आस-पास बसे कुत्तों को खाना डालते हैं, और इनसे दोस्ती करते हैं ताकि किसी भी खतरे या हमलावर की मौजूदगी का आभास होते ही यह कुत्ते भौंक कर उन्हें होशियार कर सकें.

2003 में बिहार के जेहान्नाबाद शहर से 40 km दूर स्तिथ परैया गाँव की पुलिस चौकी पर हुए माओवादी हमले में 3 पुलिसकर्मी मारे गए थे. इसके बाद अपनी सुरक्षा के संसाधनों के आभाव से झूझ रही परैया पुलिस ने दस्त लगाते वक़्त गली के कुत्तों का सहारा लेना शुरू किया. सुनने में यह आया था कि इस छोटे से पुलिस चौकी के कर्मचारियों ने अपनी तन्ख्वायों में से पैसे बचा चौकी के पास रह रहे गली के कुत्तों को रोज़ ड़ाल-चावल और रोटी डालते हैं. गौर फरमाने कि एक बात यह भी है कि आज भी हमारे देश में हज़ारों गाँव में बिजली नहीं पहुंची और नक्सल-पीड़ित इन जंगल वाले इलाकों में जो बिजली पहुँचती है वह भी ना के बराबर है. ऐसे में इन पुलिस चौकियों पर तो रात को बिजली होती ही नहीं है, और इसी कमी का फायदा माओवादी संघटन रात को उठाते हैं और अंधरा होने पर वह इन पुलिस चौकियों पर निशाना साधते हैं. तभी रात को चुस्त-दरुस्त रहने वाले इन गली के कुत्तों की भौंकने की आवाज़ सुनते ही, यह पुलिस कर्मी होशियार हो जाते हैं और अपनी टोर्च जला लेते हैं. एस करके उन्हें अपने आपको माओवादियों से बचाने का मौका पा लेते हैं.

गृह मंत्रालय और Bureau of Police Research and Development ने भी 2003 में झारखण्ड के नक्सल-पीड़ित इलाकों में स्थित बैंक और डाकघरों को लाइसेंसधारी गार्ड और कुत्तों को रखने कि सलाह दी थी. विलायती कुत्तों के महंगे होने के कारण इन्हें रखना और ट्रेन करना हर किसी के बस की बात नहीं है, इसलिए यहाँ के कई बैंकों और डाकघरों ने पड़ोस में रह रहे गली के कुत्तों को खाना डालके इनसे दोस्ती कर इन्हें ही अपना रक्षक बनाया और अब यही दिन-रात चौकीदारों के साथ मिलकर इन इमारतों की सुरक्षा करते हैं. मई 2005 में आंध्र प्रदेश में हैदराबाद से 340 किलोमीटर दक्षिण की और स्थित ‘दुर्गी गाँव’ में गली के कुत्तों के भौंकने से सतर्क हुए पुलिसकर्मियों ने पुलिस कैंप को एक बड़े माओवादी हमले से को बचा लिया था. इस घटना के बाद तब आंध्र प्रदेश पुलिस के डी.आई.जी स्वर्णजीत सेन ने नक्सल-पीड़ित इलाके में स्तिथ पुलिस चौकियों के पुलिस कर्मियों को आदेश दिए थे कि वह अपनी चौकियों के आस-पास रह रहे कुत्तों को रोज़ खाना ड़ाल उनसे दोस्ती बढाएं, ताकि पुलिस चौकियों को माओवादियों के हमले से बचाया जा सके. जैसा कि अक्सर देखा गया है, पुलिस चौकियां और सैन्य बलों के कैंप ही माओवादियों के धावा बोलने के मन-पसंद निशाने हैं.

छत्तीसगढ़ प्रांत में तो इन गली के कुत्तों ने इतिहास ही रच डाला और अप्रैल 2009 में बस्तर ज़िले में आम-चुनावों के दौरान तेजा, करीना, सैली और लिली नामक चार गली के कुत्तों ने पुलिस वालों के साथ इस घने जंगल वाले इलाके में तब मोर्चा संभाला जब माओवादियों ने इस इलाके में ढेरों भूमिगत विस्फोटक मैईन (landmine) बिछा दी थीं और गांववालों को आम-चुनावों का बहिष्कार करने को कहाँ था…. एक सच्च यह भी है कि नक्साली इलाकों में 95 प्रतिशत सुरक्षाकर्मियों कि मौत IED फटने से होती हैं. इन चारों कुत्तों कि इस अनोखे मुकाम तक पहुँचने की कहानी कुछ ऐसे है -माओवादी गतिविधियों से प्रताड़ित इस राज्य में 2005 में छत्तीसगढ़ सरकार द्वारा CTJWC (Counter Terrorism and Jungle Warfare College) की कांकेर ज़िले में स्थापना की गई. इसकी अध्यक्षता संभालने के लिए छत्तीसगढ़ सरकार ने भारतीय सेना से सेवा निवृत हुए ब्रिगेडियर बी.के. पोंवर को बुलाया, जो इससे पहले मिज़ोरम में सेना के विख्यात Counter insurgency and Jungle Warfare School की अध्यक्षता संभाल रहे थे. जुलाई  2007 में CTJWC के कैम्पस में घूमते हुए उनकी नज़र चार हृष्ट-पुष्ट गली के कुत्ते के पिल्लों पर पढ़ी. उन्होंने इन पिल्लों को उठाया और इन्हें CTJWC में Sniffer Dog की ट्रेनिंग देने वाले दस ट्रेनरों के हवाले कर दिया. आम तौर पर Sniffer Dogs की भूमिका के लिए विलायती pedigreed कुत्तों को ट्रेन किया जाता है (जैसे कि- लाब्राडोर, अल्सेशियन, जर्मन शेफर्ड, कोकर स्पेनियल और डोबेर्मन). पर इस बार पोंवर साब ने गली के कुत्तों को 9 महीने के कड़े ‘कुत्तों के IED (Improvised Explosive Device) Detection Training कुरसे’ में इनका दाखिला करा दिया. 9  महीनों की कड़ी ट्रेनिंग के बाद, यानी 1 अप्रैल 2008 को, यह चार पिल्ले – करीना, लिली, तेजा और सैली CTJWC के इस ट्रेनिंग कार्यक्रम से स्नातक होकर निकले. इस ट्रेनिंग में उन्हें ज़मीन में 6-12 इंच नीचे दबी IED को सूंघ के पहचानने की ट्रेनिंग दी गयी थी. इन चारों की काबलियत से प्रसन्नचित होकर दो और गली के कुत्तों- रामबो और मिल्ली को ट्रेनिंग course में शामिल कर लिया था…और यह तो बस शुरुआत है.

पिछले साल बस्तर ज़िले में चुनाव वाले दिन CTJWC  के अध्यक्ष बी.के. पवार ने पत्रकारों के साथ हुई एक बातचीत में इन गली के कुत्तों की माओवादियों से निपटने में सक्षम होने की खूबियों पर प्रकाश डाला. उन्होंने बताया कि गली के कुत्तों को ऐसे कार्यों में ट्रेन करने के अनेक फायदे है, पहला यह कि जहाँ कुत्तों की pedigreed प्रजातियों के पिल्ले बाज़ार में 85,000-1,25000 रूपये प्रति मिलते हैं, जबकि गली के कुत्ते मुफ्त हैं! इसके इलावा यह गली के कुत्ते होशियार हैं, समझदार हैं, चुस्त-दरुस्त हैं, रात को भी ऑपरेशन के दौरान इनकी आँख नहीं लगती और यह सतर्क रहते हैं..साथ ही इन्हें इन इलाकों के अधिक तापमान में रहने कि आदत है, घने-जंगली और मुश्किल इलाकों में यह स्फूर्ति से घूम-चल पाते हैं..यहाँ तक कि कभी कभी एक दन में 25 किलोमीटर तक चलने में भी यह गली के कुत्ते सक्षम पाए गए हैं और नक्सल पीड़ित जंगली इलाकों में घूमते वक़्त ना तो यह गर्मी से परेशान होते हैं और ना ही बीमार होकर वेट डॉक्टर का खर्चा बढ़ाते हैं..अक्सर गर्मी के कारण अल्सेशियन और लाब्राडोर कुत्ते (sniffer dogs) जंगल में बीमार पड़ गए हैं, जिससे पुलिसकर्मियों को कभी-कभी परेशानी हुई है..क्योंकि कई बार नक्सालियों के खिलाफ कार्यवाही कई दिनों तक जंगल में चलती है और बीमार कुत्तों को लेकर घूमने में परेशानी भी हो जाती है…ऐसे में पोंवर साहब कहते हैं, “आखिरकार यह गली के कुत्ते लोकल हैं, अपने इलाके से प्रेम करते हैं और इसकी सुरक्षा के प्रति वफादार हैं, यह हमारी नाक नहीं कटवा सकते. साथ ही हमें यह समझना पड़ेगा कि अशांत, आतंक और नक्सल पीड़ित इलाकों में तो वृद्धि हो रही है और sniffer dogs की मांग और आपूर्ति में भारी अंतर है, इसलिए ऐसे में गली के कुत्तों के समझदार होने का, इनके असामाजिक तत्वों से निपटने में निपुण होने के कारण हमारा इन कुत्तों का सुरक्षा सम्बन्धी कार्यवाहियों में इस्तेमाल करना एक समझदारी पूर्ण निर्णय होगा”.

माओवादी इलाकों में तैनात हमारे पुलिस दल की हालत तो फिलहाल खस्ता है, आये दिन किसी न किसी के मारे जाने या सर काटने की खबर सुनने को मिलती है…हमारे पुलिस कर्मियों और सैन्य बालों के हत्यार पुराने हैं और अन्य संसाधनों की भी कमी है…ऐसे में जहाँ नक्सल-पीड़ित गाँव में बसने वाले लोगों के सुरक्षा पुलिस के हाथ में है, वहां ही इन पुलिसकर्मियों और सैनिकों की सुरक्षा शायद इन वफादार गली के कुत्तों के हाथ में है…पर अब तो इन गली के कुत्तों की जान लेने के भी माओवादियों ने फतवे जारी कर दिए हैं, अब ऐसे में क्या किया जाए?

Edit Page_Amar Ujala Dated 10th March, 2010
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*Criminal streak*: Killing of stray dogs by Maoists reflects the ultimate form of sadism

street-dogs


This article written by respected senior Journalist Hiranmay Karlekar* was first published in the *OPED* Page | Thursday, March 18, 2010 | The Pioneer

Killing of stray dogs reflects the ultimate form of sadism

What is there in common among some Maoists committed to a violent overthrow of the existing state, some bureaucrats sworn to uphold the Constitution of India and the rule of law, and some presidents of Residents’ Welfare Organisations? The answer is simple: The killing of stray dogs — or the ordering of their killing — which is prohibited by law. The Animal Birth
Control (Dog) Rules 2001, promulgated under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act of 1960, only allow for the removal of stray dogs for neutering and vaccination against rabies and their subsequent return to where they had been taken from. The Guidelines for Dog Population Management, issued in 1990 by the World Health Organisation and the World Society for the Protection of Animals, and several other WHO reports, make it clear that this is the only scientific way of reducing the population of stray dogs.

The logic of the animal birth control programme is that dogs, being territorial, prevent other dogs from entering their domains. Neutered and vaccinated stray dogs prevent un-neutered and un-vaccinated dogs from other areas from entering their territories. Hence, having neutered dogs in one area, those administering the ABC programme can move into another and repeat the performance. In this manner, an entire city, State or country is covered and the number of stray dogs declines steeply as each of them lives out its biological span of life. Then why the killing?

In the case of Maoists, it is a part of their war against the state. The barking of stray and pet dogs warns police pickets and villagers of their presence; surprise attacks are foiled and arrests facilitated. They are not alone in this. Terrorists in Punjab and those sent across the Line of Control in Jammu & Kashmir by Pakistani terrorist outfits like Lashkar-e-Tayyeba, Hizbul Mujahideen and Jaish-e-Mohammad, had asked locals to kill all dogs in their respective villages. Significantly, Mr Swaranjit Sen, when he was the Director-General of Police in Andhra Pradesh, had asked all police stations to adopt local stray dogs who would alert them to the approach of Maoists at night.

To Maoists, the killing of stray and pet dogs is a part of the collateral damages of war, which affects innocent people as well. There is a measure of truth in this. According to a report, a herd of 80 elephants is in dire straits in south Bengal as their return to their habitat is prevented by the presence of Maoists and security forces in the forests through which they have to pass. In *All Quiet on the Western Front,* Erich Maria Remarque gives a heart-rending account of the agony of horses wounded in World War First. The issue with Maoists is the deeper one of violence as an instrument of capturing power, which is unjustified in a country where parliamentary institutions for peaceful change in Governments exist and where even revolutionary changes in socio-economic relations can be wrought through constitutional amendments. As the results of the French, the Bolshevik and Chinese revolutions indicate, revolutions devour their children and seldom achieve their goals.

The problem with civil servants, particularly heads of municipalities who are aware of the law but still order the killing of stray do, is different. They display an utter contempt for the Constitution and an arrogance whose effects are felt in arbitrary and savage actions in other fields as well. If this makes them unsuited to holding high offices involving the exercise of a significant measure of power, their actions and the demand for killing of stray dogs by heads of RWA, also displays a genocidal streak.

In his seminal work, “Fear of Freedom”, Erich Fromm shows how sadism reflects a desire to overcome one’s own feeling of insecurity through domination over others. The most complete form of domination is over life itself which is realized through an act of killing. Genocide is the most grotesque expression of sadism.

Since a call for the mass killing of a religious community or an ethnic group will immediately fetch mass opprobrium, a substitute is sought in the killing — or ordering the killing — of stray dogs. Hence we return to the question: Can people calling for it be entrusted with offices of power?

*Mr. Hiranmay Karlekar is Consultant Editor, The Pioneer and Author of the book titled, ‘Savage Humans and Stray Dogs: A Study in Aggression’