Category wildlife

Torturing animals is suicidal!

Dr V Selvarajan Leave a comment

Published in South Express on 13.12.25

Disturbing visual! Why don’t admins remove video clips of animals being tortured?

A social media post caught the attention of the admins in a WhatsApp group. Indeed, the clip was quite disturbing! It showed a live crocodile being skinned. A Chinese woman used a knife to remove the top layer of a crocodile’s skin to create a stylish ladies’ handbag. If a weak-hearted person sees the clip, he would even faint. Now the question is whether the post is scary or the action. In another clip, it was explained how shuttlecocks are manufactured using feathers plucked from live pigeons. Shockingly, millions of feathers are taken from these birds while they are still alive. We do not want to debate whether such practices should be banned, but it is a fact that animals are being tortured. Cruelty toward animals for meat, milk, eggs, leather, wool, or silk is a major ethical concern worldwide. We cannot stop killing animals for meat. Any debate for this will end in controversy. But unconfirmed sources quote the world’s non-vegetarians as between 75% and 90%. However, in India, A 2021 survey found that about 39% of Indian adults describe themselves as “vegetarian.”  Slaughterhouses, in general, claim to kill animals at one go and without torture. This is what we understand, and we may be wrong. The animals are part of the food chain, which we acknowledge. Our concern lies with the cruelty inflicted on animals.

What is more painful to hear is that many wild animals and birds are tortured and killed for purposes other than food. Tigers are poached for their nails, teeth and bones. Metal traps used for killing them cause slow and painful death. Monkeys are forced to perform in street shows, kept in chains, and beaten until they obey commands. In traditional practices like “dancing bears” (now banned), bears had their teeth broken and noses pierced with hot rods. Crocodiles are killed brutally or skinned while alive for leather. Snakes are nailed to trees and skinned alive in illegal markets. Snake charmers remove fangs, causing infection and starvation. In Tamil Nadu, for kili josiyam (parrot astrology), flight feathers of rose-ringed parakeets are cut painfully so they cannot fly away and are used to pick fortune cards, even though they are protected under Schedule 4 of the Wildlife Act. It is an offence as per the law. The above are only indicative examples, not exhaustive. Instead of condemning social media posts that show cruelty towards animals, just because they induce palpitations, group members must come forward to become the voice for the voiceless. People who forward such posts must add a sentence cautioning the weak-hearted people to avoid seeing them. In our opinion, bringing such horrible episodes to the limelight will help create awareness and stop cruelty to animals.

Stay away from wild animals!

Dr V Selvarajan Leave a comment

Published in South Express on 13.9.25

Recently, in the Bannerghatta forest area in Karnataka, a leopard climbed onto a safari jeep that was completely secured with a grill. The leopard attacked a boy inside the jeep by reaching its foreleg through the viewing hole. The incident was captured on video and went viral, as the boy was hospitalized for minor bruises. It’s important to remember that animals often act spontaneously and defensively. As for the safety measures in this case, there does not seem to have been any lapse on the part of the forest department. Even the boy was not at fault. An investigation is probing the cause. Perhaps the animal may have sensed a threat from the tourists and reacted accordingly. As the viewing hole was small, the animal could not enter the jeep.

Ecotourism everywhere has become a menace, disturbing the privacy of the wild animals. The tourists must indeed keep a safe distance from wild animals. More so in the case of stray animals. In one of the safaris, I found myself very close to a tigress. The jeep did not have grills to secure the tourists. In their excitement to capture close-up photographs, tourists often tend to put their heads and hands outside the jeep. Additionally, safari drivers quickly share information with other jeeps via wireless communication. In no minute, all the jeeps parade in the spot to get better scores from their passengers. Tourists comfortably forget that they are disturbing the privacy of the animals. Many instances of attacks by wild animals have been reported from various parts of the country. While wild animals are making headlines, we must also acknowledge the issue of stray dogs.

The behavior of stray animals is often unpredictable. Animals behave instinctively, while humans are rational beings. Neither the animals nor the affected people should be neglected. The grim stories about stray dogs continue. Even as the man-animal conflicts continue, both need a better deal. The revised court order gave some respite for stray dog enthusiasts. But the victims of stray dog attacks are at large. We should not forget that although humans are at the top of the food chain, they cannot live without other living organisms, right from carnivores to street dogs. The Government should take balanced action to protect both human beings and animals, as it is bound by the constitutional obligation to provide a better livelihood to all living beings.