 |
|
|
|
|
THE PLASTIC COW – A MOVING DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THE PLIGHT OF THE INDIAN COW AND THE EPIDEMIC OF THE PLASTIC BAG
An introduction written by Sharon St. Joan, about the release of the Plastic Cow Documentary
A profoundly moving documentary, The Plastic Cow, examines, not only the current plight of the cow, but also the long history of the cow in India, going back through thousands of years of reverence for the sacred cow. One young boy in the film, Vishnu, sums it up by saying, “Cow is God.” The traditional worship of the cow contrasts sharply with the circumstances of the cow in India today. Although the life-saving surgery performed on Lakshmi is shown in graphic detail, the film is beautifully done, with great dignity and perception, and a remarkable lack of blame or negativity.
The music, the narration, and the cinematography are extraordinary. The film speaks with the gentle voice of India and gives a very moving presentation of reality, with statements by well-known animal advocates; among them Clementien Pauws, Philip Wollen, Rukmini Sekhar, Dr. Chinny Krishna, and Pradeep Nath.
It is a true vision of India, encompassing all its multiplicity of paradoxes, with its beauty and its tragedy, and a call by the group, the Plastic Cow Team, to do away with the use of plastic bags which inflict such suffering on the cows and other animals of India.
The Winsome Constance Kindness Trust, in Australia, has provided funding for all the cow surgeries performed by the Karuna Society for Animals and Nature and for the production of the documentary.
TO VIEW THE PLASTIC COW FILM ON YOUTUBE, CLICK HERE
|
AN APPEAL FROM LAKSHMI AND HER CALF
Lakshmi’s life, was saved at Karuna Society for Animals and Nature by surgery that removed a vast quantity of plastic bags. Since then she has given birth to her calf, now six weeks old, and the two are happy, healthy, and well cared for.
“My life and my calf’s life have been saved by the removal of huge amounts of plastic from our stomachs. Karuna needs your help to provide food, shelter and medical treatment for all of the 56 cows to date, that have been rescued and operated on and will remain in Karuna’s care for the rest of our lives”
FOR EACH COW THE COST IS
Rs.30/- a day, so Rs.1000/- a month
PLEASE HELP US
|
THE PLASTIC COW CAMPAIGN FILES A CASE IN THE SUPREME COURT OF DELHI, FOR ANIMAL RIGHTS AND THE COMPLETE BAN OF PLASTIC BAGS
PRESS RELEASE by Rukmini Sekhar
It’s time to formally introduce a project called the Plastic Cow Campaign (PCC). A small team consisting of Philip Wollen of the Winsome Constance Kindness Trust, Australia, Clementien Pauws of Karuna Society for Animals and Nature, Pradeep Nath of VSPCA, Vishakapatnam and Rukmini Sekhar a Journalist, have been working together over the last year and a half to address the disturbing problem of wandering cows and bulls eating plastic bags. In view of the shockingly large number of cows that are full of plastic (the abattoirs vouch for the fact that every cow they slaughter is full of plastic), we came together to specifically campaign for this in a sharp, one-pointed and focused manner using multi-pronged strategies:
1. A court case has been filed in the Supreme Court of India as a PIL (Public Interest Litigation). While there may be a couple of cases pending asking for a total ban on plastic bags as an environmentally hazardous pollutant, this team has specifically filed it as an animal rights litigation. This is clearly a case of the state violating its own laws where the Constitution guarantees the right to life to all living beings and yet, the plastic bag issue is not being either monitored or implemented by the state. We have also asked for a better garbage disposal system where there is no interface between animals and plastic. The last minister’s view (on record) was that making plastic bags (albeit over 40 microns thick) offers employment to people. However the cattle on the road, desperate for food, unfed by dairy owners, cannot make out the difference between thin or thick bags and eats all bags as long as there is food inside. A question we are also asking is – what happens to the bulls and dry cows that are turned out on the road?
On May 7, 2012, the Supreme Court announced that it may be considering a total ban on plastic bags and has made all the state governments, municipalities and the Animal Welfare Board of India respondents in the case. This made huge national and international news.
2. A film has been made by Kunal Vohra supported by the Winsome Constance Kindness Trust. This film will be translated into many languages and used in outreach. It is an excellent film and lays out the problem squarely.
3. The third component of the project is the outreach effort. We realise that having some good materials alone is not enough if it is not disseminated. We need to create a massive interface with the public (includes govt officials, corporates, RWAs, educational institutions,homemakers, local dairy owners, and the public at large). We realise this is a herculean effort, but one that must be done.
We are looking to expand this small team of ours into an all-India network of “plastic cow campaigners.” We hope that many people will join this campaign in large numbers from different parts of the country, creating “plastic cow chapters.” We want that all citizens of India should join this campaign to assert our sacred duty of respecting the rights of all animals to live and breathe as is their birthright. This is a problem that, if left unattended, will send many animals (turtles, goats, fish, birds, cows, bulls, camels, dogs and cats, to name a few) into an unseen and painful death, strangulated by plastic.
|
CAMPAIGN GETS ACTIVATED IN JAIPUR
This letter below, from campaigners in Jaipur, is the first of many other chapters to come. We congratulate them for their tremendous efforts.
Hello Plastic Cow Campaign Team
With your guidance, we would like to inform you about the launch of the Plastic Cow campaign in Jaipur on 30th June. We have convinced a local monthly magazine owner to agree to making us a charity partner and providing space for the campaign.
We will start the campaign with showing the Plastic Cow video to 50 students, followed by a painting competition on remedial measures on how to save the cow by the children, followed by a ten minute audio visual with the press who will be given some leaflets on the topic. Also the chief guest of the magazine will take the first pledge to save the cow. This is just the launch, our plans are to start doing indoor and outdoor activities for the project on Sundays.
|
IMMEDIATE ACTION TAKEN BY THE COMMISSIONER OF ANANTAPUR
In the local newspaper, an article was written about the Commissioner of Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, who fined a shop keeper Rs.22,500/-, for using plastic bags that have recently been completely banned. The bags were confiscated and destroyed.
This is very encouraging for the campaign as it is very difficult to monitor the shop keepers who still insist on using plastic bags, we hope that this heavy fine will make a difference.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
