Massive campaign launched to prevent animal cruelty

Love and care for Animals, an NGO working with stray animals, particularly street dogs, will hold camps in schools round the year to create awareness about them.

In the camps there will be a slide show on animal welfare followed by an entertainment movie on animals. There will be a quiz competition along with sit and draw animals competition on animals. The students will also be asked to make craft products on animals.

The NGO has launched Animal Welfare Fortnight on January 14. During this period, street dogs have been given anti-rabies vaccination. In the rural areas, cattle camps and in Kolkata, camps for horses have been held. Massive awareness campaigns have been launched. 

Puppet shows have been organised as a part of the awareness campaign. In the recently concluded Howrah Book fair, the NGO opened a stall. On January 21 to 23, awareness camp will be held in Budge Budge College. Through posters, placards and booklets people will be made aware of the animal welfare laws.

A spokesman for Love and Care for Animals said love due to sustained campaign by the NGOs, love and sympathy for street dogs had gone up. In many areas in the city, school students are raising funds to buy food and vaccine for animals and are looking after them. The street dogs have been sterilised and are looked after regularly. In the areas surrounding Ballygunge Lake, many stray dogs have been fed, sterilised and vaccinated under the leadership of Madhubanti Moitra.

Arijit Mazmdar, a consultant who stays in Howrah and has given shelter to over a dozen stray dogs said many of them had become homeless as many old buildings had been pulled down to make room for new ones. He urged intervention of the civic body to set up shelter for them.