In the Bible, we are told that when Abraham was about to sacrifice his son, he heard a voice asking him to stop and, instead, sacrifice a ram which was standing at some distance.  Thus, human sacrifice, which was prevalent throughout most ancient cultures, gave way to animal sacrifice. With the advent of Christianity, an offering of bread and wine replaced the offering of flesh and blood as such, investing the concept of sacrifice with a new dimension. In Verse 37, Chapter 22 of the Holy Quran, we find the following unequivocal statement:  “Their flesh will never reach Allah, nor yet their blood—but your devotion and piety will reach Him.” In southern India, consonant with belief structures such as Jainism and Buddhism, the ritual animal sacrifice practised within the precincts of several Hindu temples gave way to the practice of breaking a hard-shelled brown coconut instead.  Thus, Brahmin priests started offering a large round plate of 'offerings' to the deity of the temple, placing the two halves of the coconut along with a piece of camphor, flowers, fruit, a lighted oil lamp, the sacred red powder and so on upon the plate.

Personally, I consider this transformation to be an all-important step in the advancement of human civilisation and spiritual growth.  In place of the blood, agony and torture of some helpless, voiceless, sentient and living non-human animal, we offer flowers, fruit and a lighted lamp to the deity.  What could be more appealing, aesthetic, worshipful, just or humane?

If we examine scriptures in the light of ethical human conduct towards animals, we shall surely come upon some tenet or other which would allow a symbolic sacrifice instead of an actual, gory spectacle of suffering which degrades and brutalises the one who kills as well as everyone who witnesses the slaughter.  We are, or should be, aware that killing animals--for whatever reason--contributes directly to irreversible environmental degradation.  From the perspective of faiths such as Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism, such actions also make for extremely bad 'karma'.  We live, after all, in one global environment.  We should, accordingly, espouse a contemporary interpretation of ideas and ideals promoting animal welfare and the rights of animals.

It is, therefore, of the utmost moment that all religious leaders speak up in defence of defenceless animals at the mercy of human beings.  Let us not to on killing in the name of religion.  Let us, rather, find ways and means of substituting other objects of ritual sacrifice in place of animals, which feel pain and agony just as we do.  This would be the enlightened way.

Dear friends,

International Organization for Animal Protection – OIPA –www.oipa.organ Italy based working since 1981 & duly affiliated with the United Nations, Department of public information, undersigned is the representative of OIPA in India & founder chairman, PFA HARYANA –www.pfaharyana.in as well.

Today I along with OIPA INDIA north zone coordinator Mandheer Maan appeal you all friends to be more compassionate towards animals about their rights & welfare, pet as hobby –no problem but pet for profit gives commercial – business points of view & with this thought you have to follow the law of the land & we are ready to provide legal awareness amongst the public with motto –WHY UN-NECESSARY PAIN & SUFFERINGS to the animals? So please follow the rules & law of the land, do your fundamental duties as defined in the article 51 – A(g) of the constitution of India.

TRADE IN EXOTIC SPECIES BY BREEDERS:

Breeders are creating a consumer market for endangered species by selling exotic species and this is against the spirit of international cooperation endorsed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITE of which India is a member country. CITES is an international agreement between governments on trade in specimens of wild animals and plants. To implement it requires coordination between countries. India cannot demand cooperation from other countries to control trafficking in rhino horns and ivory products if some persons irresponsibly create a consumer market for the Brazilian macaw and North American snake varieties.

The situation is worsened by a complete absence of laws to protect and monitor imported exotic wildlife species imported by breeders. If released into local ecosystems by accident or design, such a biological invasion of non-native species (by predation, competition and spread of disease) can have a far reaching impact on agriculture, forestry, fisheries and development.

But trafficking in rare and exotic wildlife is big business in India! And it is being conducted in utter anarchy in a legal vacuum. Every year, hundreds of animals enter the exotic pet trade but no governmental authority will own the responsibility of tracking imported exotic animals and ascertaining whether they have been released into the local habitat.

WE BELIEVE THAT:

• the only way to stop the proliferation of the exotic animal trade and the suffering in it causes is to stop the breeding, bartering, trading, and sale of exotic animals for personal profit and amusement, and to teach the public that wild animals belong in the wild, not in our homes

TRADE IN COMPANION ANIMALS BY BREEDERS:

There has been a proliferation of ‘backyard breeders’ in the NCT of Delhi of late. These persons do not care or know about genetics and bloodlines, do not properly screen potential buyers, raise the animals in poor conditions and practice irresponsible inbreeding as a result of which more and more cases of dogs with hip dysphasia, epilepsy, respiratory ailments, kidney failure, umbilical hernias, heart murmurs, eye defects, hemophilia, problematic pregnancies, etc. are brought to veterinary clinics. These are a direct consequence of breeding brother to sister or parent to child.

We are appalled by the lack of responsibility taken by government officials in keeping a check on the inhumane conditions of commercial breeding kennels in Delhi. Such establishments are a disgrace to our community. While there are laws worldwide to check and control commercial breeding, there are no laws in current usage to keep a check on whether adequate care is being provided to animals bred for commerce by breeders and whether they are living in substandard living conditions in effort to increase profit.

WE THEREFORE DEMAND:

1. That breeders provide (a) breeding charts, (b) documentary proof on whether they have bred dogs that at least two years old, (c) proof whether a resting period has been maintained for bitches between litters, (d) whether they have been tested for any genetic health problems before the breeding, and (e) information on what happens to animals when they cannot breed anymore.
2. That checks be implemented by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi/Animal Welfare Division (Ministry of Environment and Forests) to ensure that breeders (a) compulsorily provide information on the health testing of most of the immediate relatives of the animals bred, (b) offer a guarantee against genetic health problems, (c) rationalize the prices of dogs and (d) provide authentic papers with animals sold by them.
3. That the Animal Welfare Division and the Wildlife authorities (a) take strict action against those breeders who import and breed exotic species of monkeys like marmosets, snakes, tortoises and fishes as pets, (b) immediately rectify the lacunae in the Wildlife Protection Act that allows such wildlife species exemption from seizure, (c) track such animals imported and provide proof to the public that such species have not been dispersed into the environment by the breeders by accident or design thus causing an unquantifiable disturbance to the ecology.

WE, THE UNDERSIGNED NGOs:

• Oppose the mass breeding of animals for profit because of the suffering, exploitation and trauma of the animals involved. It is foolish that on the one hand the Municipal Corporation of Delhi sterilizes dogs and on the other hand allows the unchecked breeding to carry on without controls.
• Believe that as a society we have domesticated the dog and the cat and in doing so now have a responsibility to treat them as domestic animals and not livestock.
• Support the elimination of breeding establishments through enactment of new legislation, and public education to eliminate the market for such animals.
• Oppose the deliberate capture and confinement, import and the breeding of wild or exotic animals as pets.

WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE THE ADOPTION OF PETS FROM ANIMAL SHELTERS. COMPASSION IS NOT A TRADE. DOMESTICATED ANIMALS ARE COMPANIONS NOT A COMMODITY TO BE SOLD FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROFIT BY BREEDERS.

EXOTIC ANIMALS ARE BEST LEFT IN THEIR NATURAL ENVIRONMENT.

COMMERCIAL BREEDERS AND TRAFFICKERS OF EXOTIC ANIMALS MUST BE URGENTLY BROUGHT TO BOOK BY THE CONCERNED AUTHORITIES AND DRASTIC CHECKS AND CONTROLS MUST BE PLACED ON THEM. BETTER STILL, SUCH FACILITIES SHOULD BE ELIMINATED ALL TOGETHER.

Naresh Kadyan & Mandheer Maan

Along with Friendicose-SECA, Wildlife SOS, Citizens for the Welfare and Protection of Animals (regd.)

(Bihar Times) For years now , I have been advising people not to eat meat. Apart from all the other things wrong with it, very few people know which animal has been killed for its meat, its state of health when it was killed ( 45% of all animals killed in slaughterhouses and 70% of all chickens have gangrene when they are killed as their bones have been broken while being transported , the tissues have started decaying and have become smelly, bacterial infections have set in, the flies have laid their eggs in the pooling blood, blood has turned poisonous for several days, the acidic levels have risen and there is a gas build up, the body has already started rotting much before the animal has been killed. ) and the way in which it was killed ( in an investigation report of the main slaughterhouse in India , Idgah in Delhi, placed before the Supreme Court it was shown how the animals were cut with rusty blades, urinated and defecated on and left in pools of other animal But this article is not about the filth in meat that no amount of boiling can take out ( can you boil gangrene of human faeces out ? ) It is about the type of animal meat that you are eating.

The Bihar government has just announced that it will promote rat meat. This is one state that has been looted so systematically and ruthlessly for the last 15 years that it has no middle class or rich people left at all. In 15 years of Lalu Prasad’s shameless dacoity, no roads were built, no hospitals or schools made , every single industry fled , most shops closed down. Even the politicians became scroungers ! The only people who got rich were the criminal mafia who cornered all the natural resources like coal and iron ore and , with the help of Lalu Prasad and his illiterate wife whom he made proxy Chief Minister while he stayed under house arrest for corruption, took it out of the state.

The new government has been further crippled with huge floods and inefficient administrative abilities. So now, they look for quick fixes to bring prosperity. For a while they jumped enthusiastically into smuggling cows out to Bangladesh to be killed for meat. But now there are very few cattle left and the farmers dependant on them for ploughing are even more destitute. So now what better than the only natural resource left – rats.

Rats are eaten in Bihar by a community named Mushars or Bhuyans who are considered the lowest on the social ladder. Now the government of Bihar has announced on August 9th that they have a panacea for everything – people will be encouraged to eat rats , the meat will be introduced formally into all eateries from roadside dhabas right upto five star hotels and will occupy a place on the menu – rat burgers , rat tail pasta, baby rat keema ( I am not joking) . This will solve the following problems:
1. Rats eat more than 50 % of the grain in all the leaking , badly kept government godowns. If these are caught , then the grain will be saved.
2. The community of Mushars will be socially rehabilitated and will become rich.
3. Everybody will have a source of protein. This will solve the global food crisis. India has, according to the bureaucrats who have no doubt done a population count with NGOs of their relatives and charged the World Bank for the same , eight billion rats , seven for each Indian. ( Bureaucrats number eight per Indian and would be just as nutritious to eat. In fact getting rid of them would probably solve every world crisis).

Bihar’s social welfare department secretary, Vijay Prakash, was quoted in The Statesman, as saying: “Rat meat has huge potential to be developed into a popular dish which, if extensively commercialized will tackle almost 50 per cent of the food crisis in the country”. He said that his department plans to organize food festivals, set up stalls at various locations to sell rat meat and train hotels in ways of making tasty rat meat dishes.

“Many of the reputed hotels in foreign countries have rat meat as an important part of the menu. We will interact with these hotels to teach us how to adapt our cuisine to this meat. We intend to make it a household item very soon here”, he said.

The social welfare department plans to popularize rat farming on the lines of chicken and fish farming. Some field rats weigh as much as three kilograms and if a poor rat-catcher can nab three or four rats a day and sell the meat , he could lift his family out of poverty, Prakash told the daily.
At least Bihar is being honest about their intentions. Rat, dog and cat meat are the staple animals used in most meats served by many restaurants across India. Mince balls, patties, kebabs and other over spiced meats hide and confuse the consumer. In South India , according to the Bihar government , rat eating has always been popular and has in fact lowered the demand for chicken. In North India , according to him , it has always been eaten. In Bihar it is known as patal Bageri. The rat catchers sell the meat for Rs 5 per rat and as each rat is at least 2 kilos , the motel owners charge Rs 30-40 from their customers – depending on what meat they say it is.

Twenty years ago, we were told that Polish rabbit farming would solve the meat problem. Rabbit farms were set up in West Bengal and Himachal Pradesh and by now , they have run into the ground with the animals dying of starvation and disease and escaping into the forests where they have destroyed a large amount of natural habitat. Then we were told that emu meat is wonderful and emus were smuggled in to Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka from Australia and have proven to be big failures except in the clandestine meat market where they are sold as duck and chicken. Ducks and turkeys are still too expensive for their meat to act as substitutes for chicken,mutton or beef. And why should they be sold cheaply to the motel market when dogs , cats , rats, mongooses and squirrels can be caught for free and killed. Now that rat meat has been made official, I suppose there is no difference between the rotting flesh of one animal or another. Goat, pig, cow, buffalo,frog,monkey,snake,fish,crocodile - the pantheon of victims expands to include all species. I am just waiting for cockroaches to become the national dish. And then there will only be humans left.

Actually I haven’t seen many rats around lately. I wonder where they went.

A day after the Indian Air Force said it had no objections to Bollywood star Aamir Khan's upcoming film "Rang De Basanti" and its depiction of fighter jet crashes, the movie was embroiled in a fresh controversy over its use of animals.

Animal rights activists and Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) member Maneka Gandhi Thursday alleged the film's producer had used animals without getting the mandatory permission of the board.

"According to law, no filmmaker can use animals in their films without the permission of the AWBI. But neither the filmmakers nor the censor board bothered to get this clearance," said Gandhi, a member of Lok Sabha.

"Two months back they were sent a notice regarding the issue but they didn't take our permission and got a go-ahead from the censor board," Gandhi told IANS.

"It's only on Dec 25 that they applied for permission, which is really too late to seek permission."

"Rang De Basanti", which features horses in some of its sequences, is slated for release Jan 20.

The film, directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and featuring Aamir Khan and Soha Ali Khan in the lead roles, was in the middle of a controversy earlier this week over its depiction of crashes of air force jets. A special viewing was then organised for the top brass of the armed forces and Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

AWBI was set up in 1962 under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act of 1960 and acts as a nodal body for animal welfare. Gandhi said the law was simple - one needs to take clearance from the board to get a censor certificate.

When a filmmaker wants to use animals, he needs to apply to the AWBI stating the type of animals. An AWBI inspector then carries out an inspection before giving clearance, she explained.

Gandhi said the AWBI was contemplating to take censor board chief Sharmila Tagore and the makers of "Rang De Basnati" to court.

She also said she had talked to the information and broadcasting ministry about the issue. "When I talked to the ministry, they told me that it was a slip and they would take a look at it."

New Delhi (PTI): Currently embroiled in a legal wrangle for alleged violation of animal rights during shooting of his movie, Bollywood actor Aamir Khan not only came out in support for animal welfare but also shared the stage with well-known animal rights activist Maneka Gandhi.

"I believe all life is one whether it is animals or plants. Whether for luxury or entertainment it would be wrong to trouble the animals," said Khan, who was in the capital yesterday to support the endeavors of People for Animals (PFA) an NGO.

The actor who is known to voice his concerns about different social issues said, "What PFA is doing is something we all ought to support and I'm happy to be here."

Aamir was accused of filming a Chinkara deer, a Schedule I animal under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, for commercial purposes without taking due permission, during the shooting of the movie 'Laagan', for which most of the shooting was held in Kutch in 2000.

He alongwith his ex-wife Reena Dutta, the film's producer, director Ashutosh Gowarikar, executive director Srinivas Rao and photographer Ashok Mehta have all been named in this case.

Special Correspondent

Species in sanctuary allegedly filmed inLagaansans permission

Forest department did not permit commercial use of species

---

 

Aamir Khan

 

AHMEDABAD: After actor Salman Khan, trouble is now brewing for Aamir Khan over alleged use of chinkaras in the protected chinkara sanctuary in Kutch district, Gujarat.

While the State CID (crime) has been asked to re-investigate poaching charges levelled against Salman Khan while he was shooting in Kutch for Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam in 1998, the State Forest Department re-opened the case against Aamir Khan for the alleged violation of the Wildlife Act the same year.

Officials of the State Forest Department said Aamir Khan had sought permission to film chinkaras in his film, Lagaan, shooting for which was held mostly in Kutch . The department, however, refused permission for the commercial use of chinkaras, an endangered species. However, when released, the film was found to have footage of the species.

The department had ignored the issue then and closed the matter after some preliminary inquiry. However, following a fresh complaint filed by a Youth Nature Club, the Forest Department reopened the case.

Officials of the department were unsure whether the chinkaras had been filmed in the sanctuary in violation of the Wildlife Act or footage from a documentary on wild life was used. An eyewitness reportedly told the officials that the species was freshly filmed and two chinkaras were injured in the process.

A Forest Department official, however, said there was no evidence to suggest that a chinkara was killed while filming Lagaan.

It might not be difficult for the department to find out some ''eyewitness'' even eight years after the incident because of the anger against him among the locals.

During the shooting, Aamir allegedly promised assistance to some of the drought-prone villages where Lagaan had been filmed. But, villagers said he had failed to keep his promise once shooting was over. The locals further claimed that he had not adopted these villages, as promised, after the 2001 quake.

Patna, Aug 5 (IAN This dog has finally has its day as a Bihar court gave a clean chit to Chhotu, a widow’s pet dog, after some neighbours had complained it was creating trouble in the neighbourhood.

The court of the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) in Purnea district, about 300 km from here, made it clear in its order that dog was not mad and its behaviour was also not violent.

“The SDM observed the dog’s activities and behaviour and concluded that it was neither mad nor violent as alleged in a police report,” said Dilip Kumar Deepak, a lawyer who helped dog owner Rajkumari Devi, a childless widow living alone with only the pet animal in her house.

The dog itself, along with Rajkumari Devi, appeared in the court Tuesday for second time within a fortnight.

Last month some of Rajkumari Devi’s neighbours complained that eight-year-old Chhotu was a mad dog and it had attacked and bitten several people. A case was lodged in a local court by a neighbour, Jagdish Das.

The police in their report to the court said the dog was violent and dangerous to peace of society.

Dilip said that in July the SDM court issued a summons to Rajkumari Devi to be present in the court along with her pet. “The court was compelled to issue a summons also to the dog in view of the police report,” he said.

For Rajkumari Devi and Chhotu, it was not the first time they had a victory over neighbours.

Nearly five years ago, a local court had sentenced the dog to death but she fought a legal battle and mobilised the support of animal rights activists, including former central minister Maneka Gandhi.

The order was finally stayed, saving her pet’s life.

‘I simply begged for clemency saying that being a widow, it was my only companion and protector. If the dog had been killed, I would have been left with no one to protect me from miscreants who were bent upon grabbing my property,’ she had said.

‘My dog is everything for me. Chhotu is like my father, mother, brother and friend. It takes care of and protects me. I will not allow people to separate me from Chhotu,’ said Rajkumari, a frail woman clad a soiled sari.

All animal shelters are in need of funds and volunteers. There are several ways that you can help :

Voluntary work

Whether you are a student, a housewife or even a fulltime professional, you can spare a few hours every day or even once or twice a week to work at a local shelter. This is extremely important because employees are always overworked and underpaid and there are so many emergency cases pouring in all the time that sooner or later they become immune to suffering. The handling and care of shelter animals is at best impersonal and at worst rough and ready. Since shelter animals are already in poor condition, both mentally and physically, they need gentle personal attention. Some need to be coaxed to eat, others need to be exercised and all of them need to be loved. This is only possible by people who are sympathetic and understanding of an animal's needs. Employees are simply doing a job-they put the food in front of the animal but do not and cannot take the time or trouble to see that it eats it of to check whether it needs a special diet.

Volunteers should meet the shelter administrator and work out a time and work schedule. Duties can include feeding, walking and bathing the animals, assisting the vet, cleaning out kennels, answering the telephone and registering pick up calls (if there is an ambulance service), accompanying should be paid to puppies and kittens who die very quickly in shelters.

Volunteers start with great enthusiasm and regularity. It is vital to maintain this. You have made a commitment which you are expected to honour. The management assigns you certain tasks and depends on you to fulfill them. Failure to show up or stick to the schedule disrupts shelter work and the animals who are creatures of routine suffer. Schools can introduce a scheme whereby students earn points or credits for putting in regular time at a shelter.

Material help

All shelters can use a number of things that you might have no use for. You can organise a regular contribution of old newspapers, bedding, boris, utensils, vegetable peels, leftover food, old medicines, old blankets and bedding, fans, coolers, heaters and so on. Apart from giving these yourself, inform and encourage friends and neighbours too. Arrange a central collection pool for the colony where residents can bring their contributions and the whole lot can be taken to the shelter daily/weekly. You can also contribute milk, biscuits, bread, eggs, green vegetables, grain, fruit and dalia.

If you would like to celebrate an occasion or commemorate a pet by sponsoring a meal at the shelter, enquire how much food is required and at what time. Inform the management that you will be providing this food so that supplies are not duplicated.

Approach restaurants/hotels and ask if they will contribute cereal and vegetarian leftovers like dals/ vegetables on a regular basis. Organise a pick up schedule. This food does wonderfully for cows, pigs, and dogs.

Financial help

If you do not have the time or inclination to work at a shelter, you can contribute towards it financially. You can donate a fixed amount each month or a percentage of your profits. The important thing is to give regularly so that the shelter can be certain of a certain amount coming in.

Building Fund

Every shelter needs to construct enclosures for its animals as these keep increasing. Building requirements include steel, cement, bricks, roofing sheets and so on.

you can help towards the cost of construction by sponsoring a particular encloure. In return that enclosure can be named after you or a person of your choice. You can also contribute materially in the form of building supplies.

Services

Whether you are doctor, an architect, a banker or accountant, shelters can benefit from your professional expertise. Accountants can offer free accounting and auditing services, architects can plan and design shelters, doctors and vets can provide first aid in their own areas and lab facilities and consultation as required, automobile manufacturers can provide free service and repair facilities for shelter vehicles, builders can help supervise construction, teachers can assist at training sessions, advertising agencies can design mailers and publicity material, event managers can organise fundraisers, and anyone who can drive can help out as an ambulance driver. Companies that have pager services can donate a pager to the shelter as this helps pickup services.

Volunteer network

Since there are few, if any animal ambulances, all those in operation are overworked and sometimes one must provide services for the whole city. As a result there is often a huge time gap between a case being reported and the ambulance being free to attend to it. In the meantime, the sick, wounded animal needs help. It also needs to be restrained in a safe place so that the ambulance does not waste time searching for it.

Every shelter therefore needs volunteers around the city who can be informed of cases in their area. Thereafter it will be the volunteer's responsibility to go to the given address and ensure that the animal is fed, watered, administered some first aid and kept till the ambulance arrives. To be part of this network you need a telephone or pager so that messages can be relayed.

Get the book First Aid for Animals (Rs. 60) from Sterling publishers and learn how to help an injured animal. You should also tie up with local vets to help out in emergencies until the animal can be removed to the shelter. This will save the shelter time and the animal's suffering and possibly even its life.

In case of an emergency involving a small animal, you should be able to take the animal to the shelter yourself if necessary.

Fundraising

Every shelter needs help fundraising. You can do this by organising celebrity support for fundraising events, prepare and send out direct mail appeals, organise school raffles, getting prizes sponsored by local companies, set up stalls at local fetes and fairs, contact local firms and veterinary manufacturers for donations, make and sell cards, distribute and monitor donation boxes at suitable sites like hotels, restaurants, shops, cinema halls, offices, banks and so on.

Adoption

Every shelter has dogs/cats/pups/kittens that need homes. You can help by making and distributing flyers advertising this. Put up flyers at veterinary clinics, shops, clubs, schools, restaurants and so on. You can organise visits by school children to the shelter on adoption days.

Printing and Publicity

People need to know where to take or report animals that need help. Publicity also helps the shelter raise funds. You can help to publicise the shelter by making and distributing flyers about it. Ask the newspaperman to insert the flyer with the paper. You can also ask your local cable operator to put out a regular advertisement for the shelter.

Approach local newspapers for space to advertise shelter animals and services. Get sympathetic media people to cover the shelter on a regular basis. Ask advertisement agencies to design, print and make television ads and find corporate sponsors for them. Write letters to the newspapers about the shelter. Send articles on the shelter to magazines. Find a filmmaker who can make a short film on the shelter which can be shown to prospective donors.

Tree planting

Plant trees in and around the shelter and in your colony. Be sure to provide a tree guard with every sapling as otherwise these plants will not survive. You can get these plants from government nurseries at nominal rates. Choose fruit trees or peepal trees which will grow to provide shade and fruit for the animals.

Collect medicines from your colony

See that they are not too old to be used and donate them to the shelter.