BWC wishes to see the end of this practice in India. We have conducted one bali-prevention exercise (very successfully), and would like to share with you the following thoughts and ideas:

1.  We feel that this should be attempted as a Hindu reform exercise. If Raja Ram Mohan Roy could cause the practice of Sati to stop, why can’t we stop animal sacrifice? Hinduism is due for such a change and it would find the support of society also, even the non-vegetarian section of it. If tackled on the basis of animal rights, then we would be asked to apply the same rules to Muslims also. And it would be too difficult if not impossible to stop the Bakr-Id sacrifice. Better to tackle people of our own community with whom we can afford to pick a quarrel. Let us first clean up our own stables before pointing fingers at them. After all, even they do not shed blood in their masjids, whereas our Kali temples are full of blood and goat heads.

2.  We have to work on stopping local incidents of bali as well as getting the practice banned by law.

3.  We should target the locations of wholesale slaughter, for example, the Dakshineshwar Mandir at Calcutta, the Kaamaakshi temple in Guwahati, etc. Once it is stopped in these, they set a precedent that can be used to get it stopped elsewhere. However, people living in Calcutta, Guwahati etc have to take the initiative. We can all arrive there for joining in the protest, but the organisation has to be local.

4.  We have to be vocal in our demands for the ban of animal sacrifice in temples. A well-publicised nationwide campaign of signatures and then of a delegation of organisations’ representatives going and meeting the prime minister can be considered. Here again two ideas come to mind:

a)  A cross-country protest march against animal sacrifice, covering the length and breadth of the country and passing through the major sites of sacrifice, would not be a bad idea. Such a march would attract the attention of the media, would spread the word to the villagers. Such a march can be joined in by supporters along the way, and would end in Delhi with a petition signed by people all along the way handed over to the PM or somebody.

b)  At least one signature sheet (the one we would place at the top of the pile when we finally present it to the PM) should be filled with signatures and stamps of eminent organisations and another of eminent citizens who endorse our cause. Individuals could be big industrialists (Azim Premji (Wipro), Narayan Murthy (Infosys), Ratan Tata, Rahul Bajaj, ...), film celebrities, religious heads (the five Shankaracharyas, Pandurang Shastry Athavale of Maharashtra, Asaramji Bapu, Ma Amritanandmayi,…), social reformers (like Baba Amte, Chandi Prasad Bhatt, Sundarlal Bahuguna), doctors, nutritionists, yoga gurus, etc., while organisations could be like CRY, Missionaries of Charity, Chinmaya Mission, Ramakrishna Mission, Arya Samaaj, etc.

5.  This exercise has to be an exercise of love, not of anger. We have to make the people performing the sacrifice understand that they are violating the spiritual atmosphere of the temple with the bloodshed, and also offer to them alternative forms of worship. Publicise the pujaari on National Television as a reformist, so that he is enticed by the positive publicity.

Circus:

When a circus comes to your area, there are a couple of things you can do:

i)          Visit it to see what animals they use. There is a law against the use of the following five animals: lion, panther, bear, monkey, tiger. If the circus is making any of these animals perform in the ring, a case should be filed with the local police station using the attached Notification as the grounds of appeal.

ii)          Even if they are not using them to perform, the latest developments indicate that it is obligatory for the circuses to hand over these animals to five zoos around the country. So these five animals may not even be kept by the circuses, leave alone used for performing. That can be another plea made to the court to secure release of the animals taken around the whole country in small cages by these circuses.

iii)         Each circus is supposed to possess papers certifying the health of the animals. Take a veterinarian along with you to the circus, go where the animals are kept, ask the vet to observe (from far) the animals for any obvious signs of external injury or trauma, and also for the sanitation of the places where they are kept and the food they are given. If any problem is observed, then visit the local Wildlife office and have the vet complain about these to them and ask them to conduct an inspection themselves.

iv)         Count the number of each animal in the cages or enclosures. All births and deaths of animals have to be reported by the circus with the Wildlife authorities. I think they are not supposed to acquire more animals from outside. Check with the local Wildlife office and ensure that the circus has proper papers (number and tallying birth/death records) related to the animals they possess. BWC has a list of circuses in India and the animals they possessed at one time. If the animals they have now are more, then they have to be accounted for by the circus.

The idea in all the above is to make sure the circus is following all rules laid down. In addition, you could do the following:

v)          Get leaflets printed on the lines of the one attached and distribute them to people going in to or coming out of the circus

vi)         Hold a protest or demonstration outside the circus. Have banners made and stand outside the circus holding them. There will be risk of retaliation from the circus people for both these, so be careful. You will need police permission for holding public demonstrations, so make sure that the police are kept informed and on the whole, are on your side. Tell them beforehand of your plans and make friends with the inspector in charge. Assure him that it is going to be a peaceful demonstration, educate him about the reality of circuses and the law. Give him a printed copy of the Notification and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.

vii)        Visit schools and ask them to allow you to address the children. Speak to the children about the way circus animals are torn from their natural homes and captured for circus performances, how they are abused in training, and the horrible conditions  in which they are kept. Tell them not to ask their parents to take them to the circus.

Slowly, some change will happen over the years. The idea is to make life a headache for the circus even if it doing everything legally. It should think twice before entering your town. For that you need to be on your toes and be active and vigilant when a circus visits your town.

Also, find out where the circus is going next. Alert the people of that town. Maybe send them the leaflets and posters and banners that you made so that they can stage demonstrations without undergoing the same lengthy preparations that you did. Share your resources with others. If we had any ready made,  we would have gladly sent them to you.