• Open letter to the ‘Indian Express’

    20Nov09
    Categories: Misc Comments: 0

    Dear Mr. Pandya,

    This is further to your news article titled ‘Missing dog bone of contention between activist, company officials in Vadodara’, which I have attached below. First we would like to thank you for taking note of articles of interest to animal rights activists and animal welfarists, who are now, fortunately, substantial in number. These issues seem trivial to some people but they can actually make a difference of life and death. I am sure you agree that every life is important and deserves a chance. Sincere thank you to you and your paper for taking note.

    I also wanted to inform you that some of the Delhi based organizations, prominent of which is Citizens for Animal Rights (CFAR) along with NGOs and citizens based in Delhi and NCR, will be following up on this case and ensuring that such acts of cowardice against hapless, innocent, trusting animals are not repeated.

    As we understand, Ms. Roy had gone to Mr. Patel’s office with two volunteers of GSPCA and offered the following solutions to his supposed problem:

    1. To keep the gate closed

    2. Ask the watchman to shoo away the dogs because the dogs can very well live on the streets like other street dogs.

    To these solutions his reply was:

    • the dogs open the gate and come in
    • they climb a six feet high gate
    • Who will give the salary to keep a watchman?

    Mr. Patel had no right to dislocate a dog when options were available with him to keep the dogs away from the premises.

    I have attached copies of the relevant provisions / government directives, etc. enacted / issued in regard of animal welfare in India. Consequently, attached for your perusal are the following :

    A. A scanned copy of the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules, 2001 (please specifically refer to Rule 7) ;

     B. The scanned copy of a circular (2 pages) issued by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances, and Training ;

    C. The scanned copy of a directive issued by the Animal Welfare Board of India, constituted by the Ministry of Environment and Forests ;

    D. Scanned copy of an M.C.D. notification, showing the approach of the M.C.D. in this regard (which is based on the law of the land) ;

    E. Scanned copy of a Times of India news report regarding a Delhi High Court direction to the police to protect persons who feed stray dogs ;

    F. Scanned copy of a Hindustan Times news report regarding the view taken by the Supreme Court regarding stray dogs ; and G. Scanned copy of an order passed by the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Delhi. Additionally, Section 428 of the Indian Penal Code also provides for imprisonment and fine in cases involving animal cruelty.

    Displacement of a stray animal is defined as cruelty and therefore is illegal as per our legal system. We are hopeful that citizens of our country will become more tolerant of each other and other species and behave with more compassion. Best regards, Smita (Animal Welfare Activist, New Delhi)

    Missing dog bone of contention between activist, company officials in Vadodara

    Express News Service Posted online: Friday , Nov 20, 2009 at 0126 hrs

    Vadodara : A stray dog missing from the Alkapuri area of the city has become a bone of contention between an animal activist and the officials of the company, which had become home to the dog. While the animal activist Hansa Roy alleged the officials of Devidayal Agrochemicals had taken away one of the sterilised dogs, ‘Sylvia’, from the compound of the unit illegally, company officials said the allegations were wrong and that they have been tolerating the nuisance created by stray dogs despite damage to their property by them. The matter reached the Sayajigunj police station and the police have assured proper action against the guilty.

    Roy has also written to the Animal Welfare Board of India with a plea to take legal action against the company officials. “As part of my routine activity, I have been taking care of the dogs at the premises of Devidayal Agrochemicals located in Alkapuri area. On November 13, I found one of the vaccinated dogs, Sylvia, was taken away from the compound. I came to know that the dog was taken in a tempo in the wee hours. As per the law, removing stray dog from its original habitat is considered cruelty and is liable for legal action. I have approached the Sayajigunj police, but no action has been taken against the main accused Bhavin Patel,” said Roy.

    Patel, the General Manager of Devidayal Agrochemicals, said: “The dogs have been damaging the vehicles by tearing the seat covers, making scratches on the vehicles but we never harmed them. If the animal activist is so concerned, she should provide them a better place to stay. When we asked her to find a solution, she did not turn up and now she is making false allegations. In fact ,the dog, which has damaged most vehicles, is still in our compound. We are open for any inquiry and punishment if we are found responsible for ill treatment to animals,” said Patel.

  • Rescue A Life By Taking A Stray Dog In

    13Nov09
    Categories: Misc Comments: 0

    10 November 2009 05:12

    http://www.didimtoday.com/local/didim/657-rescue-a-life-by-taking-a-stray-dog-in.html

    Didim Today

    Giving home to a homeless is among the most noble things, a man is capable of doing. Altinkum has alot of stary dogs. A stray dog who scavenges to eat and lives at the crumbs thrown by others is not a pretty sight for most of us, and that’s the reason why most of us have entertained the thought of bringing a stray dog home at some point of time in our lives. However, most of the time we did not act upon the thought because we thought it would be too difficult to train a grown up stray dog for these two reasons his being grown up and his being a stray dog. We were wrong on both counts.

    Old dogs are not less capable of learning than puppies and can learn even faster having seen a lot of life already. Stray dogs are hard working as they have spent a large part of their lives struggling for food and life. They are grateful for the security and nourishment you provide and are ready to show that it was all worth it. There are, however, a few things that you must do before taking a stray dog as a pet. Take the dog to the vet and have him examine it, for contagious diseases are a big risk in the strays though there is nothing much to worry about, as they can be easily treated. Once you are through with the medical examination of the pet, it is time to train him a little because having spent most of his life scavenging, he would still try to find food in the dustbin. Gently tell him “No” if that doesn’t work, say a firm “No!” That should work. After telling him not to look for food in the dustbin take him to his meal bowl, put some food in it and let him eat so that he gets the message as to where he would find food in the house. Make them associate right. For instance, if he is being punished, he should be able to associate it with the fault. You come back home and find your pillow chewed upon, the dog gets punished. He’ll chew it again and would hide when you come back. He fears punishment but has not been able to associate it with the mistake. He associates it with your coming back home and not with his chewing the pillow. Show him the pillow, tell him not to do it again and if he does it again, punish.

    It may be a little difficult at first but the dog would eventually learn “to learn.” No matter how bothersome be the initial roadblocks, nothing diminishes the satisfaction of having a saved a creature from a life of torture, misery and endless struggle. But do you know what “we can do this almost every where in the World, so we can do this in Altinkum Didim and Akbuk go ahead and rescue stray dog today” we all know that they need your help and support. How you can help “you can feed stray dogs, rescue it, support them with health issues, report to related autorities with the legal manner. But dont forget this is not only the dogs, there is cats and many other animals to think about so they need your support. You can always search online and get all the related details for every animal in the World if you need to.

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