The city’s out-of-work bullock population may not end up in the abattoir after all. The president of an animal rights organisation bought more than 30 animals that have been banned by the controller of rationing from transporting kerosene. Fizzah Shah, the head of In Defence of Animals, has also readied a public interest litigation (PIL) to challenge the ban.
Bullock carts have been used for transporting kerosene to dealers in Mumbai for decades. The controller issued an order prohibiting the practice on January 31 following a petition by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in the Bombay High Court. The petition sought to only ease the workload of bullocks, but the controller imposed the blanket ban.
The diktat made the animals a liability for their owners, who then decided to sell them to slaughterhouses. Till Wednesday, Shah had saved 32 of these animals. “I have erected a proper shed for them at my farmhouse in Virar East. I have also hired people to take care of them,” she said. “The bullocks have been kept in a natural environment, and they appear to be happy.”
Shah said that she was horrified by the prospect of bullocks ending up in the abattoir after helping their owners earn a living for years. “I realised that the only way to save them was to purchase them from their owners,” she said.
Shah will file her PIL against the ban in the coming weeks. Animal lover Ajay Marathe will join her in the legal fight.
“My organisation will also intervene in the ongoing petition filed by PETA. The matter will come up for hearing on March 15,” she said. Animal rights activists say the State should issue directives for proper care of bullocks instead of banning their use for transporting kerosene and other goods.
“We have been campaigning for years. We now hope the High Court takes cognizance of the situation, and orders rehabilitation of the animals,” Dr Manilal Valliyate, the director of PETA India’s veterinary affairs, had told Mirror earlier.
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