Maneka Gandhi warns against neglecting animals’ plight

Lucknow, Oct 28 (IANS) Union Child and Women Development Minister Maneka Gandhi, who is a strong votary of animal rights, on Saturday said that the time had come for the people to understand that they are ignoring the plight of the animals at their own peril.

Here to attend an event on animals, their rights and the need to do something for them, organized by Connect Lucknow, Gandhi said that there were innumerable experiences, most for them sad, to explicitly warn the people that even a speck in the animal world, if ignored or slighted, will return to haunt and hurt mankind in a big way.

"Many a times if a stray dog bites someone, people would shout on 'why haven't I died' as if I have given birth to these dogs," she said while championing the cause of stray dogs, and urging people to be more sensitive towards them, feed them and even give them shelter after sterilization.

Stressing how the animal kingdom and the human race are interlinked, Gandhi, citing the example of cockroaches, rats, snakes and stray dogs, said they were crucial to the eco system as they got rid of dirt, small insects and mice.

"There is no city that can survive for a day if these dogs are killed...see what happened in Surat (Gujarat) many years back. The municipal commissioner got the stray dogs killed and thereafter there was outbreak of plague," she said.

Asking people to give up non-vegetarian food, plant more trees, be compassionate to animals, provide funds to NGOs for animal shelters, she also urged people to think of the bigger picture on how neglect of animal rights could lead to a huge imbalance in life of everyone.