I read about an organization in Udaipur called Animal Aid that treats and rescues street animals in Udaipur. Throughout India, we have encountered many animals weaving in and out of traffic, roaming the neighborhoods in search of food and shelter. Seeing gangs of stray dogs and lone cats on the streets is not unusual in developing countries. In India, however, strays include a much wider range of animals than just dogs and cats. Street animals in India might also include cows, bulls, goats, sheep, chickens and donkeys. During our stay in Udaipur, nobody seemed surprised or bothered to see what are generally considered to be farm animals, fending for themselves on the streets. It seemed perfectly natural for cows to stop traffic or goats to be sifting through a pile of garbage on the side of the road. Animal welfare didn’t seem to be a priority or even a real concern in India, so I was interested to visit Animal Aid to see what kind of work they were doing.
We were greeted by a lady named Soumya who introduced us to Animal Aid does and took us on a tour of their center. Animal Aid was founded in 1994 by an American family from Seattle who had relocated to Udaipur. They are still involved in the organization today and their daughter Claire, who grew up and became a veterinarian, is a part of the leadership team.
Animal Aid primarily provides treatment and care to homeless animals who suffer from wounds, mange, fractures, injuries and diseases. They also provide vaccinations and spay/neuter procedures for strays. The main goal of their work is to give street animals a better quality of life.
Apart from their medical services, the center also runs a sanctuary. They take animals in and provide them with food, shelter and therapy on a long-term basis. Because there are so many animals in need of help, they have to be very selective with which animals they can house and feed. Primarily, they take in animals who wouldn’t be able to survive on their own on the streets. For example, they take care of dogs who suffer from serious physical problems caused by road accidents, industrial conditions and human cruelty like blindness, partial or full paralysis and other severe conditions that prevent them from providing for themselves on the streets. We saw the center’s collection of wheelchairs for their patients who have lost the use of their legs. There are several dogs who are victims of abuse and suffer from psychological damage such that they are unable to interact with other dogs. In total, the sanctuary is home to about 200 animals on a long-term basis.
This was the first time the kids were exposed to the struggle that domesticated animals face and the cruelty inflicted upon them by humans. Our hearts went out to these innocent and gentle creatures.
Soumya brought us to see a cow who is suffering from uterine prolapse because of overmilking. On the one hand, Hindus believe that cows are sacred and to be revered. On the other hand, India’s dairy industry is the largest in the world because despite being vegetarian, most Indians consume milk, paneer and butter. As you can imagine, cows are not well treated in an industrial dairy operation and Soumya shared with us some sad realities of the lives of dairy cows. Cows are often housed in horrible conditions and given meagre food rations. Once they grow too old and are unable to produce milk, they are slaughtered or let out onto the streets to eke out their own survival. Female calves grow up to become dairy cows. Male calves are either slaughtered at birth, left to starve to death or pushed out onto the streets. It finally made sense to me why there were so many cows roaming the streets.
Animal Aid has a team of about 100 who work on the 3-acre site where the center is located. Many of the staff are full-time caregivers who work in the center helping to care for the animals. Although employment outside of the home for women in rural areas of Rajasthan is uncommon, Animal Aid is proud that many of the caregivers at the center are women who love animals. There is a team of about 20 who work on the rescue team, responding to call-ins from the public who report animals in need of help.
Usually, visitors are encouraged to go into the enclosures and interact with the animals. In fact, the center has an active volunteer program that welcomes volunteers from the local community and also from abroad. Unfortunately, children are not allowed to enter the enclosures for safety reasons. We wished we could play with the dogs and pet the other animals, but we were only allowed to look at them through the fences. We love animals and one day, we hope to care for our own rescue pets when we settle down somewhere on a more permanent basis.
It was enlightening to visit Animal Aid and learn about the admirable work they are doing, especially in an environment that seems to be fraught with challenges. Perhaps the biggest challenge they face is indifference and ignorance form the local community. Soumya told us that an important part of their work is in community outreach to teach local people, especially children, that animals don’t need to be revered or reviled. However, they do deserve to be treated with respect and kindness.
