THE
TIMES
ACTIVIST
by Anuradha Sawhney
Thousands of vegan activists
march across New York, London
and Tel Aviv
Across the globe, from London to Los
Angeles, to Tel Aviv, thousands marched
in solidarity for a single cause: ending all
forms of animal exploitation. Numerous
organizations and speakers also shared
inspiring messages in support of animal
rights. Campaigners called the march “a
consolidated global effort to make the
vegan voice heard.” It’s estimated that in
New York City alone, roughly 2,300 people
took to the streets. Animals are mutilated,
confined to tiny cages, and violently
slaughtered so that humans can eat them;
electrocuted, strangled, and skinned alive
so that humans can parade around in
their coats; burned, blinded, poisoned,
and cut up alive in laboratories; enslaved,
beaten, and kept in chains to make them
perform tricks for humans’ amusement;
and worse. In London thousands of animal
lovers made their way to the Houses
of Parliament after setting off from the
Achilles Statue, in Hyde Park. Many
dressed up as different creatures to make
their point, including rabbits and cats. We
approve and want more such marches!
10,000 vegans
march in
Tel Aviv
Lebanon makes Animal Abuse Illegal
We were so excited when he President of Lebanon,
Michael Auon, signed an animal welfare and protection
law, making animal abuse illegal in the country! After
eight years of hard work, Animals Lebanon, an animal
welfare and protection organization, helped accomplish
this large goal. Now, Lebanon has a strong and
comprehensive law to give animals the legal protection
they need and to punish those who abuse them. It took
7 long years for this law to be finally signed, but as they
say, its better late than never. Especially for animals.The push for this law started back in 2010 when
Animals Lebanon tried to stop a cruel, animal-abusing
circus but were told that despite the moral, ethical, and
religious correctness of their opposition to the circus,
there was no legal basis. None of this would have
been possible without Animals Lebanon and all of their
volunteers and supporters. They are proof that if we
keep working hard we can make a difference.Finally a place to go and study animal laws!
NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, in conjunction
with Humane Society International (India), has
established the first ever Centre for Animal Law in
India. The center was inaugurated by Union Minister for
Women and Child Development, Maneka Gandhi. N.G.
Jayasimha, managing director of HIS, India, has been
appointed as the Honorary Director of the Centre. N
G Jayasimha is a lawyer himself and well versed in all
aspects of animal laws.The center will work towards developing a curriculum
on animal welfare laws as well as potential topics for
research. As part of its activities, it will also conduct
workshops on issues of interest with judicial magistrates,
animal welfare advocates, law enforcement agencies
and other stakeholders in the government. We hope
that this center will be the first of many such institutions
so that more and more people can learn about the laws
that protect animals.