Fire crackers not only pollute the air with the fumes and noise, they also cause injuries especially to animals. If one finds birds getting affected by the “maanja” during the kite-flying contests, pets getting scared by the sound of crackers and sometimes get burnt too.
Why not include the safety of animals in this revelry? The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act was enacted in December 1960.
The main objective of the Act is to prevent cruelty and reduce the sufferings of animals. Following this, the Animal Welfare Board of India was established in 1962 under Section 4 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960 (No.59 of 1960).
Unfortunately, the objective of the act is seldom met. We forget that animals, like us, are living being who have a right to live. Interference in their harmony is violence of this act.
Help at hand
Arun, India Coordinator, Tree Foundation believes that we must treat animals as our friends and they are of equal part in our ecosystem.
He has involved children who help him with the success of various events. He adds “explosives cause neurological stress on animals, birds and all life forms. We are reaching out to as many students as possible to avoid fireworks. The good news is that many children have taken it up on them to spread the message of kindness towards animals in Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi and Lucknow.”
Says a young volunteer, Harsha, Std. VIII, Pallavi Model School, “We go to zoos and ask people not to throw food at the animals. Animals in the zoo have their own special diet and food thrown by the public will harm them.
For Deepavali we are doing skits and giving presentation to various schools on not to burst explosives and pollute the environment. We are getting good response."
While the children are busy volunteering school to school, Padmaja has started a campaign to avoid using rockets, bombs and other harmful crackers.
“During Deepavali, a buffalo suddenly ran in front of our vehicle. We later found out that the buffalo was startled by the noise of bombs,” says Padmaja.
Her friend, Priyanka and she are campaigning now to ensure the safety of these animals during the festival.
They have come up with a poster campaign to save the animals. “Our initiative is appreciated by the Hyderabad Collector,” Padmaja says. "We hope to convey our message to everybody.”
If you come across any injured animal or to volunteer and save animals, call animal helpline: 9052995255, 9642057881 .
