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I’d
like to think that in every society, town and village, all
around the world, there will always be at least someone who
feels a kinship with animals, and tries to help them if they are
sick or otherwise in need. Fortunately for animals in India,
Animal Aid Hospital is working on their behalf.
In
July 2008, Animal Advocate Inc. traveled to the Rajasthan region
of India, and visited Animal Aid. They are located a few
minutes outside the city of Udaipur, in a traditional Rajput
village. When we arrived about 10:00 a.m., someone in our group
spotted a tiny bat lying on the gravel roadway outside the
facility, barely larger than the pieces of gravel themselves.
We carefully picked up the baby bat and carried him to Animal
Aid, where one of the staff found the tree he had fallen from,
and put him safely back. We were greeted with a firsthand
example of Animal Aid’s compassionate work.
The
tour was led by Claire Myers, who is the daughter of Americans
Erika Abrams and Jim Myers. They formed Animal Aid Charitable
Trust by registering as a 501(c)3 in the USA in 2002,
specifically to raise funds to build the Animal Aid hospital and
hire a team of doctors and 20-person support staff. The
hospital opened in March 2003. When I asked Claire why her
family left everything in the U.S. and decided to live in India,
she said that they thought about how they could best help the
world -- should they concentrate on the children, the disabled,
the elderly? Claire said her family decided that the animals
were most in need of a voice to represent them.
Animal
Aid provides treatment for about 100 animals every day, and
makes a difference in the lives of abused and neglected animals
in the following ways:
1. Street Dogs. Each day, Animal Aid
sterilizes 10 to 15 street dogs. An estimated 10,000 dogs
live in the streets of Udaipur, and without sterilization,
the average lifespan of an Indian street dog is less
than 2 years. They also vaccinate each sterilized dog
against rabies.
2. Donkeys. Beautiful, tiny gray donkeys
are widely used to carry heavy loads. After a few years of
this labor, donkeys are often left lame, useless, and
abandoned, sometimes with open and infected wounds from the
plastic used to tie the loads onto their bodies. As
part of their mission, Animal Aid provides shelter and a
permanent home to donkeys who are no longer able to
work (i.e., a “no-kill” shelter for unwanted
animals). Animal Aid also treats working donkeys, and
provides essential education to owners about how to save the
donkey’s lives.
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3. Cows. In the Hindu religion of India,
the cow is supposed to be sacred. However, they are
still used to pull heavy wagons loaded with goods and
produce milk. When a cow is no longer “productive,” the
owner may abandon the cow who is left to graze on litter and
garbage in the streets. This can cause fatal digestive
problems. Other fates can befall these cows, including
being killed. Although veganism is a new concept in India
(it was introduced around 2005), Animal Aid urges
everyone to stop using all animal products, including
leather. In addition, the Animal Aid staff conducts an
education program specifically for farmers, teaching them
how to provide a more humane life for their working animals
by providing shelter from the elements, the companionship of
other herd animals, and daily exercise, proper nutrition,
water, and rest. They provide medical treatment for the
animals at no or low cost.
4. Emergency Rescue. Animal Aid is
always “on call”. Through their ongoing Education
Program, they receive about 10 to 15 emergency calls each
day, for a range of animals from birds to cows to monkeys.
Animal Aid ambulances provide mobile emergency medical
services when a sick or injured animal cannot be brought to
their hospital.
As we saw with their care for the baby bat, no
animal in need is turned away. Many dogs are hit by cars,
and suffer broken bones and spines. For these animals, the
facility becomes their permanent home. No animal is
euthanized unless he or she is suffering, and all efforts
to heal their wounds or illness have been exhausted.
When
we entered the grounds and saw the hurt animals, I was nearly
overcome with emotion. However, after touring
the facility, meeting the people who care for the animals, and
learning about all the good work Animal Aid is doing on behalf
of India’s animals, I left with the warm feeling you get when
you spend time with compassionate people and the animals they
care for. Animal Aid states that they “work to achieve a
paradigm shift in which our duty to protect the rights of
animals replaces humanity’s “dominion’ over animals.”
We believe that, because education is part of their mission,
things will continue to improve.
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We
were in India for a little over 3 weeks, and saw
outright neglect as well as shocking incidents of animal
abuse. However, we also saw some amazing examples
of compassion. For example, in many villages in
Rajasthan the people make the evening’s bread (a
flatbread which takes many forms) to feed the cows and
dogs FIRST, before the family sits down to eat.
The cows come to the front door or porch and patiently
wait for their evening bread. In one village, a
woman took bits of food outside to feed the ants every
day. Some of the street dogs and cats are
informally “adopted” by residents of an area, and are
given food. And, in the Jain and Bishnoi villages, no animal can ever
be hurt or mistreated. In fact, the Bishnois will beat any
person who harms an animal or a tree (they are also hardcore
environmentalists). |
In Udaipur, Animal Aid is a dream come true for the animals, and
Animal Advocate Inc. is proud to provide a link to their
website. We at Animal Advocate Inc. support the work of Animal
Aid, and we encourage you to share whatever you can afford to
help them in their ongoing daily work to care for India’s
animals. The donations go to work immediately to help
desperately ill and injured animals. In western nations, it may
cost about $120 to sterilize one dog; in India, Animal Aid
sterilizes 18 dogs for the same amount of money.
We
also have a video documenting our experience at
AnimalAid
This
is a great facility and needs our support. They truly make a
difference for animals who would otherwise have no one. Please
visit their website at
http://www.animalaidunlimited.com/
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