Animal Cruelty In Mumbai

ANIMAL CRUELTY IN MUMBAI

Every day I travel a fair distance to and from work by train and I have witnessed several instances of

animal cruelty, i.e. dogs being beaten with sticks, ailing and elderly elephants being forced to beg,

injured Victoria horses forced to run, etc. Quite often I have seen 2 things which the citizens of

Mumbai, animal activists and NGOs seem to ignore –monkeys travelling inside the trains and

peacock feather vendors. I have been writing to MOEF (Ministry of Environment and Forest) since

2011 (I still have the emails as proof) but to this day, nothing has happened.

As we all know, these monkeys are stolen from their parents by Madari and forced to perform and

beg. Recently I got a reply from Peta stating that their teeth are pulled out so they can’t bite. I am

shocked as to why there are no monkey sanctuaries in Maharashtra so that we can send these

monkeys to a more normal and natural existence and the Madaries to jail. Most of these Madaris are

women and quite often they travel in the luggage compartment and/or ladies’ compartment of the

train.

Being a devout animal lover, it hurts me deeply to see any of these animals exploited and suffering.

The Second Problem…

Many people are selling Peacock feathers across Mumbai. I have seen several vendors near Dadar

Station, Colaba, Ghatkopar and feathers sold in many shops. I am shocked as to how we respect our

National Bird. The way Peacock feathers are sold, I am sure that the day is not far away where

Peacocks will be endangered like the Great Indian Buster and the Vultures. I am shocked that so

many educated people, NGO and the media don’t care about this.

Whenever I have asked these people, they tell me they are getting them from the Bhendi Bazaar and

the Null Bazaar. Not likely.

Peacocks are poached for several reasons including its meat and feathers. “There is a belief that

keeping peacock feathers in home bring good luck”. In many places the national bird is killed for

meat considered to have medicinal values especially with relation to arthritis.

Although the government does not have data on the population of the national bird, its population is

said to be dwindling because of poaching for feathers, which fetches a good price in national and

international markets.

According to Maneka Gandhi-------The peacock is the Indian National Bird. People and nations make

a symbol after great thought. The peacock is unique to India and for centuries it has been revered.

That we should allow its trade when trade in all other wild animal and bird parts is forbidden should

be strongly condemned.

According to Times of India------------Water scarcity and extreme weather conditions in

wildlife reserves in Maharashtra have been taking a toll on India’s national bird, the peacock.

The state is devising plans to revive the peacock population and increase the population of

other species dwindling in numbers, including vultures.

Maharashtra Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said the peacock population had come

down over the past few years. The three successive drought years, particularly in Vidarbha

and Marathwada, coincided with the decline.

The state government is taking up artificial breeding of peacocks to maintain their population.

Artificial breeding was earlier successfully used for increasing the crocodile population, the

minister said. Tiger population in the state had increased following a sustained campaign.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) surveillance to ramp up efforts to protect tigers are

included in the minister’s plan. To increase the peacock numbers, Mungantiwar said

artificially bred chicks would be released in the Tadoba Wildlife Sanctuary near Nagpur.

All animal activists, please write to the Animal Welfare Board and the Ministry of

Environment and Forests and stand with me to help these animals!

animalwelfareboard@gmail.com,info.moef@gmail.com,