Animal advocates wean themselves from the “gaushala” dairy tradition NEW DELHI, India––The billboard message “#DontGetMilked. Ditch Dairy! Go Vegan!” posted recently in Nehru Place, New Delhi by the Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organizations (FIAPO), is a crowd-stopper. It might not rate a blink, let alone a shocked doubletake from visiting American and European […]
Heads & Tails, by Maneka Gandhi
People For Animals (A4 Maharani Bagh, New Delhi 110 065, India).184 pages, paperback; 1993. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12498154-heads-and-tails Reviewed by Merritt Clifton “I have always detested milk,” Maneka Gandhi opined in the first line of her first syndicated column, entitled “Milk, Meat and Animal Violence.” “My son too refused to drink cow’s milk when he was weaned,” she continued, […]
Snehal Bhatt, “The Cobra Girl of Gujarat,” dies at 55
Made famous by The Snake Wranglers Snehal Bhatt, 55, made famous worldwide as “The Cobra Girl of Gujarat” by the second episode of the National Geographic reality television series The Snake Wranglers, died in her sleep from a heart attack in the early morning hours of January 23, 2017 at her home in Vadodara, Gujarat, […]
India drops animal welfare rep from lab oversight board
Animal Welfare Board of India chief ousted for opposing bullfighting CHENNAI, India––Crippling the ability of the Animal Welfare Board of India to monitor animal use in biomedical research and product safety testing, Indian minister of environment and forests Prakash Javadekar has removed AWBI chair R.M. Kharb from his position on the 13-member Committee for […]
Shaktimaan the police horse dies of complications from assault
Lost leg, suffered infection DEHRADUN, Uttarakhand, India––Shaktimaan the police horse died at about 5:30 p.m. on April 20, 2016, of causes officially unknown pending necropsy, but believed to be a post-operative infection. “It is extremely unfortunate and heart-breaking for us that the horse is no more. Post mortem will confirm the cause of death,” […]
Smart money bets on bio-cultured meat
Facebook & Google financiers say animals are not the future of agribusiness BROOKLYN, SAN FRANCISCO, HONG KONG––Some leading edge investors in agribusiness with long successful histories are betting big-time that the future of animal agriculture will no longer involve raising animals. Li Ka-Shing, for example, the richest man in Asia, with net worth of […]
Netherlands & Mexico ban wildlife use in circuses
DEN HAAG, MEXICO CITY, LONDON––Announcements distributed by Animal Defenders International less than 24 hours apart on December 12 and 13, 2014 heralded Dutch and Mexican national bans on the use of wild animals in circuses. Said Animal Defenders International president Jan Creamer, “Use of animals in traveling circuses is cruel and outdated, and that is […]
Jurist V.R. Krishna Iyer, 100, fought for captive elephants
Vaidyanathapura Rama Krishna Iyer, 100, among India’s most distinguished jurists, advocates for animals, and advocates in particular for improving the lives of temple elephants, died on December 4, 2014 from the combination of renal and cardiac failure. Though of Tamil Brahmin family background, V.R. Krishna Iyer was born and raised in the Malabar region of […]
Indian prime ministerial candidate Modi charges the rhino horn issue
GUWAHATI, Assam, India––The most controversial issue involving Indian rhinos, before April Fool’s Day, was whether their horns should be trimmed to discourage poachers. Then Bharatiya Janata Party prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi visited Dhemaji, Assam, to make a campaign speech alongside the Brahmaputra river. “Aren’t rhinos the pride of Assam? […]