Animal consumption over the years has only exceeded in numbers. Humans are a cruel species because we love killing and meek and innocent animals either to get their skin, fat, or body to consume it as food or for luxury purposes. Whereas we can live without both of them, but we don’t think about it.
Many people in society are supporting animal slaughtering, non-veg cuisine, and animal hunting for multiple purposes. Earlier, it was a sin, but in the present era, it is normal and acceptable. However, while doing these activities, we hardly think about these silent creatures and what they go through in satisfying society’s thrust for flesh and bone.
Shambhavi Malviya, who worked as an animal activist, shared such incidents where people threatened her to put her behind bars for trying to save stray pets. She has been working as an activist for many years. Let us hear her story to know more about the topic.
Shambhavi Malviya – Animal Activist
I’m Shambhavi Malviya. I belong to Jabalpur. Currently, I am pursuing MBBS from Russia and after Covid, I’m working as an Animal liberation activist in my city. I’m also a part of the Jabalpur Animal Save Organization.
My love for animals developed from an unexpected incident. Earlier, I was afraid of dogs but one day my sister brought a puppy to our home. We named this baby Abby. After a few months, Abby fell sick and started vomiting continuously. Then blood diarrhea and lethargy followed the series.
We went to the doctor only to discover that he was suffering from Parvo, which is caused by the canine Parvovirus. The disease is highly contagious and spreads through direct contact with the infected dog and can be fatal for puppies.
After noticing his condition, doctors asked us to pray for him because he was in serious condition. Then my family and I not only prayed for his health, but took proper care of his medication. I got attached to him.
The attachment I had formed for Abby made me realize that animals have feelings too and suffer through the pain that they can’t even explain. It is said that “Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened” and this incident changed my entire perspective towards strays and I started feeling for all of them. After a month, Abby was also completely well and from then onwards I took care of other animals too.
I’d feed them, play with them, nurse their wounds, look after their needs and do all the things that needed to be done. Pets warmly welcomed my affection. With time, they became my mates, and every day they waited for my arrival.
Then one day, I came across the harsh truth behind milk production and dairy products. It revealed that daily owners forcefully impregnate cows to produce milk. Just like humans, cows also start producing milk right after giving birth. So, keeping the milk flowing, farmers artificially inseminate female cows once a year.
Once the cow gives birth, a strong bond instantly forms between mother and baby. But they get little time together because, after a day or two days of birth, dairy owners separate calves from their mothers. I sold their milk in the market to earn money. That’s how the dairy industry makes a profit by selling the milk that is meant for the calf.
After knowing this, I have ditched dairy products because I don’t want to be the reason for their suffering. It took me 3-4 years for me to ditch the milk and other products as I was a tea lover earlier. Still, I abandoned it for the sake of their lives.
Once, I visited a slaughterhouse and the place where animals are slaughtered mostly to provide food for humans. It seemed like hell on the earth. I felt ashamed when I realized we kill animals only to satisfy our taste buds and greed.
After this event, I became vegan, and I promised myself that I will not consume any animal products. That day, I understood the meaning of this line “Only when we have become non-violent towards all life will we have learned to live well ourselves.”
I raised my voice against the cruelty of animals. It includes not only cows and their calves but dogs, cats, and other strays too. The local dogs are not treated well in our society because instead of taking care of them, people buy breeding species.
However, it should not be the case because every stray deserves a chance to be loved, a home, and good food to eat. Often, there are complaints regarding the dogs’ overpopulation and litter spread by them in the area. The issue occurs because they do not sterilize dogs on time. Sterilization is the best solution to this problem.
In sterilization, neutering is a biological term that is used for the removal of reproductive organs, either all of it or a considerably large part.
This process adds more years to a dog’s life and helps him to live a healthy life. It can reduce or eliminate several health problems that are difficult to treat and demand expensive medication. It also prevents cancer and other related issues.
I appealed to the municipality for the sterilization of street dogs and after enough requests; they agreed to do it. After going through the sterilization process, the dogs of my colony became more healthy.
Apart from these reasons, some other incidents also occurred in my life that brought me close to animals. One day, one of my team members from the colony spotted puppies in a sewage tank. He was shocked and informed us. However, we could only save a few of them. Some of them had lost their lives because of suffocation and lack of oxygen. We complained to the police about the people who had a hand behind this inhuman act.
The police came with us to the place of the incident but they did nothing; they just stood at one place watching us fight with each other. A minor battle took place as a lady from the opposite side tried to snatch my phone because I was recording the scenario. The police did little and left simply.
Before leaving, the officer said, “Why are you thinking so much about these strays? Live your life. Concentrate on your work. We have better things to focus on.” Then again, we went to the police station to ask them to take action. This time, we approached through a political connection, so they called them and threatened not to repeat. That’s how the case was closed.
Similarly, there was another incident of animal cruelty that happened in front of my eyes. They were taking a goat away to sacrifice her in front of their deity. Now, most Hindus have avoided this ritual still there are some communities and tribes who sacrifice animals in the name of religion and tradition.
I raised my voice against the act and they couldn’t digest it because I connected it to their belief and religion. People gathered around my house with swords in their hands. They threatened to kill me and my family if I did anything to stop them from performing the ritual. My parents and the rest of the family, especially my mother, were so scared. She asked me to back away from the case and leave the matter as it is but I couldn’t agree to do it. So I stayed adamant and took action against them.
We tried to stop this violence. I phoned the animal saving organization and police but they didn’t reach on time and they sacrificed the goat. We couldn’t do anything to stop them. We were helpless. Later, they arrived in my society. There were about 5 to 7 jeeps of police officers. They came out for the animal’s protection and warned people not to touch innocent animals. I realized together we can change this custom. After the incident, I tried to tell everyone and requested them to not treat animals as animals but as living beings because that’s what they are.
I was unhappy with my attempts because I couldn’t save the goat. Though I was glad to see that many people favored my work and supported me in saving animals. It satisfied me to discover that they understood the fact that “Each animal on the Earth has as much right to be here as you and me.”
For my contribution as an animal activist, they awarded me Karamveer Chakra in IIT, Delhi. The Jabalpur police also awarded and recognized me and my team for the road awareness initiative.
Till now, I have rescued many dogs, cats, stray animals, and birds. With time, I started getting calls for saving cows and their calves. Even my team and I worked on spreading awareness through camps and posters to save animals and their lives.
Later, we started circulating information about veganism. In which we make people aware of milk products and their consumption. Research proves it we can replace dairy products with other products. We can get all the nutrients for adequate health from a high-quality diet that limits or contains no dairy products. Milk and other dairy products are the top sources of saturated fat in the diet, leading to heart disease, type 2 diabetes, or Alzheimer’s. Studies have also proved that dairy, to an extent, increases the risk of breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers.
Currently, I’m raising awareness about the exploitation of animals in the meat and dairy industry. I’m telling people how we can make our city a safe place for all the animals. Let us remember that animals are not mere resources for human consumption. They are splendid beings who have evolved alongside us as co-inheritors of all the beauty and abundance of life on this planet.
To conclude, I want to say, “Vegan is just pure love. Love for the planet and love for yourself. And life is full of choices and many years ago, I became a vegan and it turned out to be one of the best choices I have ever made.
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