FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT!
India’s modern-day freedom movement
Sanctuary | Campaign
For almost four decades Sanctuary has been at the fulcrum
of some of India’s best and least-known wildlife campaigns.
Our purpose has been to inform and involve our readers and,
through them, wider audiences on issues that threaten species,
wildernesses and, all too often the very air, water and lands with
which our lives are so inextricably linked.
While some of our campaigns have seen success and have
resulted in positive change, many have had little or no impact
on decision makers. This is not unusual. Those who have learned
to extract short-term profi t and cause long-term damage are a
determined lot. Having said this, it has always been Sanctuary’s
position that defending the planet is an article of faith and
irrespective of the outcome, it is vital that battles are fought
to defend what is precious. To coincide with Earth Day 2018,
we therefore present Sanctuary readers with a glimpse of past
campaigns together with quick updates on their status.UNHAPPY FEET
In 2016, the poorly-managed Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Zoo
(Byculla Zoo), part of the iconic botanical garden known as
Jijamata Udyan, put eight exotic Humboldt Penguins on display.
Conservationists argued that these birds, found in the wild only
in Peru and Chile, would serve no useful purpose apart from
entertaining humans.Sanctuary’s campaign ‘Unhappy Feet’ urged authorities
against the incarceration of exotic birds precisely because the
initiative served no conservation purpose.
In the event, the penguins were fl own in from halfway across
the globe, and brought to a facility infamous for recording the
highest captive-animal morality rate in the country. Sure enough,
three months from the day they arrived, one of the penguins, an
18-month old female, died of a bacterial infection. For a while, this
sparked a row between political parties and environmental groups,
who were outraged that Rs. 50 crores were spent on a penguin
project, while the city had more pressing issues that badly needed
fi nancial undertaking. Showing signs of increasing authoritarianism,
the powerful chose to ignore protests and responded by quoting
the sizeable revenues earned by the Jijamata Udyan to justify
their decision.TIGER TEMPLE TAKEDOWN
Following an expose by National Geographic in 2016, Sanctuary
launched its ‘Tiger Temple Takedown’ campaign, aimed at building
awareness on the neglect, abuse and illegal trade in tiger parts at
the hands of Thailand’s Tiger Temple and its planned off shoot – a
‘tiger zoo’.
The campaign was picked up by the global media and this
resulted in a raid by offi cials, ending up in the confi scation of all of
the monastery’s 147 tigers.