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Journalism of Courage
Animal rights action can end up becoming quite a circus, as Maneka Gandhi, minister for social justice and empowerment, with additional charge of the animal welfare board, is discovering to her cost.
The ban on circuses showcasing five categories of animals, that she had issued as minister for environment and forests in 1991 has come to its logical conclusion, even though it has been challenged in the courts and the final verdict is awaited. Some 405 animals, including 256 lions, and an assortment of tigers, bears and panthers, are today left in the lurch. Their original owners, the circus authorities, are now unwilling to maintain them since they are convinced they will not be allowed to make money on them and the Central Zoo Authority has refused to step in. Today there is this curious situation of the animal welfare board forking out some Rs 20 lakh a month to the circus federation for the maintenance of these animals a large amount by any reckoning for a cash-strapped government department. If thisisn8217;t an exercise in acrobatics, what is? Even after handing over this money, there8217;s still no way anyone can ensure that it actually reaches the animals it is meant for. Is it any wonder then that Maneka Gandhi loses sleep worrying about their welfare?
This is not to argue for the unregulated abuse of circus animals. The whip and the torch have been regularly requisitioned to train lions, tigers and elephants to squat on stools or jump through hoops. But an immediate and blanket ban on such activity, without the necessary infrastructure to house the creatures so displaced, is self-defeating and expensive. It would have been far better if this measure was introduced in a phased manner over a period of time. For instance, the training of such animals could have first been prohibited, followed by a ban on their performances in circuses. This way, the circus authorities would themselves have been forced to phase out the more cruel performing acts themselves.
