Reconsider dolphinarium plan: animal rights org to Maha Govt

http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/reconsider-dolphinarium-plan-animal-rights-org-to-maha-govt/889796.html

Mumbai, Nov 6 (PTI) Animal rights organisation Humane Society International has requested Maharashtra Government to reconsider the proposal to build dolphin parks (dolphinariums) along the coastline in Sindhudurg district, as it would involve capturing dolphins from the wild. Such projects are being increasingly discarded in the developed countries, it says. "In a letter to Chhagan Bhujbal, Tourism Minister, we have strongly urged him to reconsider his support to the proposal to build new dolphinariums," the NGO's Campaign Manager, N G Jayasimha, told PTI.

"Building dolphin parks, especially in regions where such facilities do not already exist, may mean that animals must be imported or captured from the wild, " HSI's letter says. "The construction of dolphinariums is a backward step... true ecotourism has minimal costs to the environment and maximum benefits for the local community. Dolphinariums in new areas do not comply with these requirements," Jayasimha said. The letter was sent after media reports that in a bid to give a boost to tourism in Konkan area, government was planning to set up a Rs 510 crore Sea World theme park in Sindhudurg. 

"India has the opportunity to be a leader in Asia, regarding the increasingly controversial practise of exhibiting dolphins and other marine mammals to the public. The practise is in decline in the developed world, but is still increasing in the developing world. This is a disturbing trend," the letter says. (More) PTI VT KRK 

NGOs move court against Jumbo circus

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/NGOs-move-court-against-Jumbo-circus/articleshow/10626802.cms

PANIPAT: Trouble for owners of Jumbo Circus, who had been hogging limelight for all the wrong reasons, is far from over as the court of CJM has admitted a petition against them by representatives of International Organisation for Animal Protection (OPIA), an NGO associated with UN department of information, and Haryana People for Animals, for cruelty against animals.


The Indian representative of the NGO, Naresh Kadyan, who moved the court on Saturday, said that the animals being used for performance purposes by the circus were being kept in pathetic conditions, without proper food and shelter and were even denied medical care as a full time veterinarian, mandatory under the performance rules, had not been appointed by the circus.

The petition stated that owners of the circus transported the animals from Rajasthan to Panipat via Rohtak without proper documentation and certificates of fitness as required by Transport of Animals Rules 2001 under Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960 and the Cattle Transport Rules of 1978, as amended in 2001.

The petitioners also accused the circus owners of using some exotic species of animals and birds that were covered under the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species ( CITES).

As per official documents, (copies of which are in possession of TOI), the circus had registered eight elephants, 13 Horses, 36 dogs, one hippo, 15 parrots, three camels, one pelican, two donkeys, one goat, two turkeys, eight Persian cats and one emu with the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI). However, Kadyan said that all these animals were not with the circus which was again a violation of the rules.
The court of CJM, after listening to the petitioner's counsel, admitted the petition and fixed November 8 as the next date of hearing.

Meanwhile, AWBI has already constituted a two-member panel to inspect the animals being used by Jumbo Circus, following allegation that the animals at the circus were being subjected to cruelty and a blind hippo was being used during performances. The Haryana chief wildlife warden had also denied permission to the circus to hold shows in Panipat unless it discontinued the use of blind Hippo, named Raja, for performance.

Vet For Your Pet: Hair loss and bald patches

by Dr. Sunil Srivastava, B.V.Sc & A.H.

You notice your pooch or meow scratching miserably, losing hair and developing bald patches, the probability is they are suffering from skin infection. The humidity in the atmosphere leads to the growth of different types of micro and macro organisms such as bacteria, fungus, etc. One week allopathic, homeopathic, ayurvedic and naturopathy treatment is suggested below. If your companion animal or your street friends are showing these symptoms, you can follow any one of them.

I. ALLOPATHY

- One dose of homeopathic Sulphur 1000 (2 drops/6pills) can be given on empty stomach in the morning

- Septran DS or Plain 1 tab twice a day for adults

- Ampilox 500mg 1 tab twice a day for adults

- Zocon 100 mg twice a day adults

- Becasule twice a day for adults.

- Scrub the dead skin off the bald patches with blunt side of the knife and apply himax ointment/ lotion daily.

II. HOMOEOPATHY

- One dose of homeopathic Sulphur 1000 (2 drops/6pills) to be given on empty stomach in the morning

- R 82 or R87 15 to 20 drops twice a day

- Sulphur 30 once a day, every three days

- Scrub the dead skin off the bald patches with blunt side of the knife and apply sulphur ointment daily.

* In case you notice the symptoms reappearing, stop the treatment and re start it when it the symptoms are stable.

III. AYURVEDA

- Shodhit Gandhak powder/tabs or Baidynath Rajvati 2 tabs thrice a day

- Navratn Kalpamrit Ras half pill once a day to be given with warm water

- Scrub the dead skin off the bald patches with blunt side of the knife and apply neem oil/ gulabi malham daily.

IV. NATUROPATHY

- Apple cider vinegar 2 tsp diluted in water to be given orally

- Neem tabs/capsules twice a day

- Scrub the dead skin off the bald patches with blunt side of the knife and apply apple cider vinegar diluted in water/garlic/neem paste daily.

*Please note that in this condition, shampoos and soaps, meat, eggs, excessive fatty, sugary or salty diet should be avoided. The environment around dog should also be kept clean to avoid reoccurrence of disease. And of course hygiene is of utmost importance.

Snow leopard, ghost of the mountains, is disappearing fast

http://www.mydigitalfc.com/leisure-writing/snow-leopard-ghost-mountains-disappearing-fast-836

Snow leopard is the most mysterious of all big cats. This cat is found in the mountain ranges of south Asia and central Asia, mostly in the hill ranges of 3,000-5,500 metres high. It is said in India, the habitat of snow leopards is about 1,80,000 sq km; in comparison tiger is found in less than a lakh sq km area. Tiger conservationists often cite the number of rivers that originate in the tiger habitats as one of the reasons for saving tigers. But if seen volume-wise, the rivers starting from Himalayan region of our country , where the snow leopards live , have more water flowing.

In India, the snow leopard is found in five places: Jammu Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh. India’s most talented and famed wildlife photographer, Dhritiman Mukherjee, has captured the most spectacular images of this extremely elusive animal when some local informed him that the animal had killed a yak. Before this, most of the images from India were of captive animals or animals captured in camera trap. India’s scientists have studied this animal but most of the work has been restricted to academic level contribution. Seeing this kind of animal may be a dream for most wildlife enthusiasts. But this experience is not like visiting the regular tiger parks, where one enjoys hot meals and clean rooms. To see a snow leopard, one has to endure a freezing cold environment with very little basic amenities at disposal. And it is not guaranteed that you get to see a snow leopard.

Ranthambhore based wildlife photographer Aditya Singh says that it may be tough to spot snow leopards but if efforts are made, we can increase the sighting chances. The cat regularly preys on the livestock of the residents living in its territory. If these people are contacted they can inform one about its presence. But one has to rush before the cat could get away with its prey. In return, the visitor needs to pay the local for yak that the animal had hunted.

Conservationists who don’t take to tourism and photography may dislike this method but for now, this is the key to conservation: The local who lost his livestock will now call a photographer, who compensates the loss — instead of a hunter to shoot the animal. The biggest snow leopard area is in Tibet, with about 70 per cent habitat. Sadly, Tibet is the biggest hub of illegal fur trade, which is the biggest threat to the cat. Not enough animals to prey on due to seasonal migration makes the snow leopard kill people’s livestock, leaving behind a clue of its presence and subsequent poaching. The IUCN in its red data book has listed the snow leopard as endangered.

It is important to increase the community’s involvement in its conservation. Efforts have to be multi channelled. For both Dhritiman and Aditya Singh, it was possible to take the magnificent images of the animals only with the help of the local communities, proving that the right approach with the local communities could lead to efficient solution to snow leopard poaching.

Street dogs killed on varsity campus

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Chennai/article2593801.ece

Five street dogs were clubbed to death by workers inside Vel's University in Pallavaram on Wednesday. A case has been registered at Pallavaram police station and three men have been named as accused in the First Information Report. According to Dawn Williams, General Manager of Blue Cross of India, their office received a call around 9 a.m. from students of the University that workers were clubbing street dogs to death inside the premises. Students, who requested anonymity, had told them that they fed the street dogs every day and were pained to see them being killed brutally.

Along with three other volunteers, Mr.Williams rushed to the university campus and found carcasses of five dogs near the main entrance and two dogs struggling for life. After information, a couple of personnel from Pallavaram police station also reached the university.

However, sensing trouble, the workers had already stopped catching the dogs. A complaint was subsequently lodged and a case registered under Section 11 (a) of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 in addition to Section 428 of Indian Penal Code (mischief by killing or maiming animals) – under which persons can be jailed up to two years. 

A spokesperson of the university said they deeply regretted the incident and that they had hired the workers only to chase away the dogs and that there was no instruction to kill them. The FIR has named three men – Manikandan, Nithin and Naveen of Tirusulam as the accused.

Mr.Williams said the carcasses would be taken to Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University in Vepery, where a post-mortem would be performed. He recalled that street dogs were poisoned to death by Perumbakkam and Mowlivakkam Village Panchayats in April 2009 and October 2010 respectively. If any government or a private agency wanted to evict dogs, they had to contact Blue Cross of the TANUVAS that would send its master animal handlers, trap them without causing any harm to them and let them back after performing a birth control surgery on them.

To catch monkeys, Himachal dangles Rs.500 bait

http://zeenews.india.com/news/himachal-pradesh/to-catch-monkeys-himachal-dangles-rs-500-bait_739628.html

Shimla: Unable to check its marauding monkeys, Himachal Pradesh has offered Rs.500 each to youths who can catch the animals. The wildlife wing's target is to sterilise 200,000 monkeys in the next eight months for which it requires simian trappers, an official said.

"Any person or group that catches a monkey from any town or village in the state and hands it over to the forest authorities is entitled to get a cash incentive of Rs.500. The trappers can leash as many monkeys as they can," Chief Wildlife Warden AK Gulati told agency.

The wildlife wing would provide cages to the trappers for housing the monkeys, he said. Even forest guards are entitled to earn the incentives, Gulati added. 

As per government estimates, it has to shell out Rs.10 crore for catching 200,000 monkeys. The state cabinet last month gave a nod to containing the monkey menace more effectively by setting up 25 new sterilisation centres across the state. These will be equipped with state-of-the-art equipment.

After vasectomy, the monkey will be released in the same area where it was trapped. The new sterilisation centres would be operational by November-end, Gulati said.

Four monkey sterilisation centres are at present functioning in the state. They are at Tutikandi in Shimla, Sastar in Hamirpur, Gopalpur in Kangra and in Una, where 36,000 monkeys have been operated upon.

As per forest department estimates, more than 900,000 farmers are affected by the simians in the state. Monkeys, numbering over 300,000, target mainly cereal and fruit crops.

Their menace is more acute in Shimla, Solan, Sirmaur, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Una, Mandi and Kangra districts, causing heavy losses for the people.

The problem is so huge that the state government has been requesting the centre to include the appointment of protectors of crop from wild animals, especially monkeys, under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.

To get rid of monkeys scientifically is one of the poll promises of his party, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal told agency.

"We are on the job. Mass sterilisation is the best option. Its positive results will start emerging once half their total population is sterilised," he said, adding "the cash incentive (for catching monkeys for vasectomy) will also be a source of income for local unemployed youths."

A large number of farmers under the banner of Kheti Bachao Sangharsh Samiti procured permits from the state wildlife authority in December last year to kill the monkeys that have been damaging their crops, a move that has angered wildlife activists.

The Himachal Pradesh chapter of NGO People for Animals and central agency Animal Welfare Board of India knocked on the doors of the high court against the animal killings.

Coming down heavily on the state government, a division bench consisting of Chief Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice VK Ahuja directed the authorities Jan 6 to stop issuing the permits.

The case is still pending in court.