DD National (Doordarshan) which is the Indian government television channel and comes directly under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting was running a video regarding Dos and Don'ts for COVID 19. It was talking about two very vital points concerning animals in it's Don't section. But one of the points was quite detrimental to animal life in India. It had already started showing signs as people started abandoning their pets. The number of pet abandonment have increased during the lockdown period in India. The controversial and misleading point was:
1 Don't contact with live animals or consumption of raw / undercooked food
The point clearly tells people that if you want to be safe from COVID - 19 then do not come in contact with living animals
The good news is that Doordarshan has stopped playing the video since the evening of 7th April 2020. Instead, now they are playing a video in Hindi which talks about Dos and Donts which does not mention anything about animals. Not a word about them.
The new video has been prepared by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare but it's link is not available so couldn't share it in this post.
But the old video is still on the YouTube. To watch the video you may go on the link below:
After a tiger was confirmed positive with COVID 19 in New York the life of dogs and cats in India has worsened. It was already hard for them but now living in cities is a nightmare and the only humans who are suffering with them are the caregivers and the animal welfare NGOs.
A man who is a lawyer by profession was found to be instigating his society members to abandon cats and dogs because they spread COVID 19 to humans. This he had messaged on the society's whatsapp group. It was only after police intervention and PFA that he apologized and wrote a letter of apology. According to him he got this wrong information from a television channel.
In the last two weeks of lockdown there have been 60 pedigree dogs who have been abandoned in Noida alone. For full report about the incident kindly go on the link below:
Tonight on 8th April one more dog cruelty incident has taken place in Noida. Nothing can be more heinous than this. The man involved in cruelty is a doctor by profession. He first banged the dog against his gate, literally crushing him with it and then tied him with a rope to his bike and dragged him through and then ultimately dumped him in the bushes. The caregivers have found the dog in a half dead condition. The dog may not survive and it's good he bids a farewell to this dirty world and may he never be born again in a hypocritical country like India, where spirituality and animal laws are only in books. To get a glimpse of the unfortunate dog kindly go on the link below:
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=3248445291856695&id=100000737685846
Doordarshan (DD National) may have stopped showing the misleading video which has already created so much of fear amongst people for animals and is now replaced it with s new video in Hindi but what about the damage done?
The latest video speaks nothing about animals. The least they could do was tell people that dogs and cats do not spread COVID 19, hence do not be afraid of them and please do not abandon them.
Apart from playing the video the national television channel is also playing recorded messages of celebrities like Amitabh Bachhan, Akshay Kumar, Asha Bhonsle etc but not a single celebrity talks about the fact that pets do not spread COVID 19, therefore do not abandon them or fear them. They only talk about social distancing and washing hands. Not their fault because they speak what they are asked to speak.
Not a single Union Minister has openly made any public appeal which talks of compassion towards animals and not to abandon the dogs and cats due to COVID 19.
The only politician who has come forward for these voiceless is Mrs Maneka Gandhi. She immediately released a video and a letter saying that dogs and cats do not spread COVID 19.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=3457235824303308&id=100000507748060
Aren't the animals the responsibility of the environment ministry and the Animal husbandry and Dairying ministry? Shouldn't videos and messages for not abandoning pets come from their side too?
Shouldn't they be helping the animals in the hour of crisis by at least clearing the myths atrached to them.
Till now only a dog in Hong Kong, a cat in Belgium and a tiger in New York have been detected with COVID 19 and it is said that they may have contracted the disease from their owner and caregivers who were COVID 19 positive. According to this it is the animal who is at risk from humans and not vice versa.
Anyway in India the majority is afraid of animals and they all believe that animals especially dogs and cats will spread COVID 19 to them.
All this animal cruelty is happening in spite of the public appeal made by the Prime Minister of India to feed the stray animals in and around the colony during the lockdown.
And this is how people of India and the ministries are helping the animals during the lockdown.
The Indian animal lovers salute all the Europeans and the Americans and other nationals who are fighting COVID 19 without blaming their pets and abandoning them.
India doesn't deserve animals especially the man's best friend. There is complete lack of political will to help this voiceless animal .
The East Delhi Municipal Corpiration had put misleading rabies awareness posters in East Delhi ( that too for 3 successive years) and they are still there injecting venom in the minds of the people against the man's best friend.
The Mumbai municipal corporation without any second thought put out huge hoardings telling people that dogs and cats may spread COVID 19 but thankfully they got them removed
And now Doordarshan was giving a misleading information on COVID 19 and thank God it is no longer running it.
But what about the damages done by them?
Have they done anything to mitigate them?
Today is Hanuman Jayanthi the birthday of Lord Hanuman who was a monkey. We Indians stand in long queue to get a glimpse of this diety in his temple but when we are out our behaviour towards animals......... including monkey.....
May Lord Hanuman give sanity to humans which unfortunately man has lost..
COVID-19 is our KARMA the sooner we realize it the better for us......