Chennai schoolboy gives teachers a lesson in animal rights

Shrinivas alerted the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and the People for Animals (PFA) – who intervened in the case.

Forest Department officials, however, told The Indian Express that peacock feathers were excluded from dealership licences which is a must for trade in any wild life parts.

“The student’s investigative and activist spirit in risking his career prospects in the institution is laudable,” says Dr K Malathi, executive committee member – SPCA and honorary Animal Welfare Officer of the Central Government.

Shrinivasrecounts how he came to inform the SPCA about the “big bundles of peacock feathers” in the school’s Work Experience room: “Our school had planned the peacock dance with the feathers, gave the girls the feathers to stitch on to their dupattas, finally recoiled under pressure and had the dance performed without feathers on printed dupattas”.

After learning that the boy had leaked information about the feathers, “got from Thanjavur, according to the staff”, the teachers shifted the bundles from the work experience room.

The boy alleged that the principal told him he did not want his advice on animal welfare, “which sounds like that of a 60-year-old grandpa,” and gave him a whacking. He also claimed that the principal threatened to keep him under duress, of giving him a transfer certificate… “Then you may need an SPCA to protect human beings,” she reportedly told the boy.

The 14-year-old said he was more unnerved by the manner in which the school authorities behaved — trying tohide what they attempted to do.

Asked if he is not afraid of action that may be taken against him, he shrugs: “They cannot give me a TC,” he says, adding that he was just attempting to point out the need for awareness.

Dr Malathi, who is also the secretary for ASSAAN – a network for stray dog adoption, says Shrinivas and two other boys (who do not wish to be named) were slapped and threatened with torture. She subsequently lodged a complaint with the PFA and the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Thirumangalam on January 13, informing him that the students were asked to come to the principal’s room at 8.45 pm.

The school authorities, however, reiterated that they did not use peacock feathers for the dance and that the boys were not threatened in the manner reported.

Though there is technically no ban on the trade in peacock feathers, animal rights activists say an off-shoot of the incident is the rise in environmental awareness in young, impressionable people.