Animal care

In Defence of Animals is a non-governmental organization registered with the Charity Commissioner, Greater Bombay, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) (London), Animal Welfare Board of India and The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India. Our work involves sterilization of homeless strays, providing a health care facility for sick and injured animals and a home for disabled strays, homeless puppies and kittens. Animals that come to our shelter are sprayed, de-wormed, and vaccinated for rabies. The cost of maintaining our shelter is always on the rise as the number of inhouse animals keeps increasing.

Our initial years were those of struggle, as we worked in makeshift camps in various parts of Bombay. How­ever, since February 1, 2000, we have our own center at Deonar.

There were 10 rooms constructed on this plot by the Bombay Municipal Cor­poration (BMC) to house about 100 dogs. Last year we added five more rooms and increased our capacity to 150 dogs. We also added two community kennels to house old, blind and handicapped dogs, a sick dog ward and a cat ward, all at a cost of Rs 4.20 lakhs.

We also have an ambulance which plies in the eastern suburbs between Mulund and Dadar, and the north-eastern suburbs like Mankhurd, Chembur and Deonar, bringing in ill and injured animals. We are looking for sponsors who may be interested in displaying their advertisement on our ambulance for which our expenses are Rs 10,000 per month, incurred on the salary of the driver and diesel used.

Presently we sterilize nearly 250 dogs every month and give treatment to innumerable sick and injured animals. Despite spending every rupee judiciously, our monthly expenditure for running this operation is over one lakh rupees. The BMC does not contribute in any manner towards our programs, and even the anti-rabies vaccine has to be purchased by us. The Government of India and the Animal Welfare Board of India gave us financial assistance for two years, but now we have received indications that Government funding could stop or be reduced.

We urgently need Rs 10 lakhs to carry on this noble work. We organized two film shows, Lord Of The Rings and Harry Potter. We also had a garage sale.

As a volunteer I personally visit all schools in Bandra, Khar and Santacruz to create awareness among children regarding cruelty meted out to animals and also appeal to them to help us in our fund raising drive.

Donations form the backbone of our organization. Every donation is exempted from income-tax under section 80-G of the Income-tax Act. You could also help us in kind by providing us with rice, soya nuggets, milk powder, dog soaps, medicines, cotton, acrylic and other necessities. Cheques favoring "In Defence of Animals” may be sent to our organization at 7, Shanti Kunj, 124, Hindu Colony, 5th Lane, Dadar (East), Bombay 400014.

ABAN PESI BHOTE