Animal Rahat Update

June 2011

Thanks to the generosity of Animal Rahat donors, the team achieved a legal milestone, saved lives and provided much-needed services to more than 1,400 animals this month!

Two more bullocks are newly retired and will never again have to bear the burden of the yoke and will not be sent to slaughter. Udabattya worked for his owner, Mr Jadhav, for 22 years. This month, Mr Jadhav and another bullock owner, Mr Tawase, were able to retire their bullocks with the help of Animal Rahat, which will assist with the cost of the bullocks' feed and care. Under the team's guidance, both owners have built sheds so that the animals can rest comfortably out of the harsh sun, and they have released the bullocks from their painful nose ropes! Hurray!

Our vets treat a huge range of patients, from bullocks and donkeys to elephants and camels to rabbits and owls. But this month brought a very special client: a pangolin! Have you ever seen one of these extraordinary animals? As you can see from the photo, they resemble anteaters (they do indeed eat ants), but they are covered in keratin scales – the only mammal in the world with this feature. This pangolin was trapped in a sewage pipe and was spotted by a compassionate passer-by who called Animal Rahat. The team rescued Mr/Ms Pangolin, who, luckily, was not injured, and with the help of forest officials, we released the animal into a national park the following day.

Were it not for Rahat's presence, many animals would endure long, excruciatingly painful deaths from diseases or horribly infected injuries. Instead, they are given a peaceful release. Some of this month's cases include a dog with testicular cancer, a donkey with a maggot-infested hoof avulsion that made walking almost impossible, a horse with a severely infected broken bone in his leg and a bullock with a broken tibia.

The last instance was discovered during a home visit that, despite the sad circumstances, ended with a hopeful outcome: the owner told our vets that he no longer wished to cause animals to suffer and would therefore purchase a car instead of buying another bullock!

Animal Rahat is also helping other veterinarians. This month, through Maharashtra Agricultural University, a group of veterinary professors and students learned the latest techniques in chemical restraint from one of Animal Rahat's able vets. Dr Amol conducted a demonstration on how to anaesthetise bullocks so that they can remain standing while undergoing surgery in the field. Everyone was enthusiastic about learning this method, which will allow them to provide animals with needed surgical procedures more frequently, safely and efficiently.

As a great testament to how well Animal Rahat is regarded, local police in Sangli allowed the team to paint educational murals on the walls of police headquarters. Not only is this a great way to inform villagers about the harm caused by using whips and yoking horses and bullocks together, it is also a way to get the police more invested in enforcing the rules against these practises.

Another exciting piece of news: just last week, we made landmark progress for bullocks who haul sugarcane. Working with Animal Rahat, PETA India succeeded in convincing the Judicial Magistrate Court of Indapur to issue a notice against sugarcane factory Shri Chhatrapati Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana Ltd for loading the carts far in excess of the legal limit. The law that the company violated – the Prevention of Cruelty to Draught and Pack Animals – has been ignored for decades, so this is a remarkable victory. We hope to use this ruling to push sugarcane-mill owners and managers to tow the line and stop this hideous form of abuse. Wish us luck!

Lastly, there has also been a happy ending for an elephant. You may recall that several months ago, Animal Rahat helped free Mariappan, an elephant who had been kept chained by all four legs inside a dark shed at a temple for seven years. Since that time, he has been temporarily housed at a zoo, but this month, Mariappan was returned to his birthplace at Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR), where he was reunited with his mother! ATR will now be his permanent home, where he can bathe in streams, socialise with other elephants and experience the simple joy of walking – all things that he had been deprived of for years.

All this terrific progress is possible only because of the generosity of Animal Rahat donors. If you would like to be part of this vital work, please join us.