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Last week I received an email from a woman who had bought two rabbits, let them turn into twenty five and then left them in the cages built illegally at a public park. Two months later she went to see them and found only three left. The gardener informed her that some had died eating the garbage people threw in and some had been taken away by people to be eaten.
My hospital is full of rabbits that have been thrown away. People buy them, do not check out their sexes, allow them to mate and because they breed frequently, get fed up with the numbers and dump them in shelters to rot, sell them to people to kill or leave them in wooded areas where they are killed by jackals or dogs.
The rabbit has a sacred space in all mythologies. In Hinduism he is the face of the moon: Shashanka means rabbit faced. The moon rabbit is found in Aztec and East Asian folklore. In Chinese mythology it is the companion of the moon goddess Chang'e, constantly pounding the elixir of life for her and the other immortals; Han Dynasty poets call the rabbit on the moon the "Jade Rabbit" or the "Gold Rabbit" and these phrases were often used in place of the word for the moon.
Also associated with the Chinese New Year rabbits are one of the twelve celestial animals in the Chinese Zodiac. Chinese legend has it that there once was a strong, good man who became emperor. He eventually became corrupt and wanted to live forever, so he had special immortality pills made. His wife did not want such a cruel man to live forever, so she took the pills instead and floated up to the moon, taking with her favourite pet rabbit.
In Japanese and Korean tradition, rabbits live on the moon where they make Mochi, mashed sticky rice, pounding on an usu, a Japanese mortar. The word for 'rice-cake' and 'full moon' are both mochi. In Aztec mythology, a pantheon of four hundred rabbit gods known as Centzon Totochtin, led by Ometotchtli or Two Rabbit, represents fertility, parties, and drunkenness. In native American Ojibwe mythology, Nanabozho or Great Rabbit, is an important deity related to the creation of the world. There is a beautiful story about the rabbit which almost every religion quotes as its own.
Here is the Buddhist version: In the Buddhist ?a?ajâtaka (Jataka Tale 316) a monkey, an otter, a jackal, and a rabbit resolved to be charitable on the day of the full moon. An old man begged for food. The monkey gathered fruit for him from the trees and the otter collected fish. The jackal stole a pot of curd. The rabbit, who knew only how to gather grass, offered its own body, throwing itself into a fire the man had built. The rabbit, however, was not burnt. The old man revealed himself to be Sakra and, touched by the rabbit's virtue, drew the likeness of the rabbit on the moon for all to see.
A version of this story can be found in the Japanese anthology Konjaku Monogatarishu, where the rabbit's companions are a fox and a monkey. In Hinduism, a rabbit, with nothing else to offer a hungry, weary Indra, jumps into a fire, cooking himself for the deity. Out of gratitude, Indra placed the rabbit in the moon. According to an Aztec legend, the god Quetzalcoatl, then living on Earth as a man, started on a journey and, after walking for a long time, became hungry and tired. With no food or water around, he thought he would die. A rabbit grazing nearby offered herself as food to save his life. Quetzalcoatl, moved by the rabbit's noble offering, elevated her to the moon and told her, "You may be just a rabbit, but everyone will remember you; there is your image in light, for all people and for all times.”
Another South American legend tells of the noble sacrifice of Nanahuatzin during the creation of the sun. Humble Nanahuatzin sacrificed himself in fire to become the new sun, but the wealthy god Tecciztecatl hesitated four times before he finally set himself alight to become the moon. Due to Tecciztecatl’s cowardice, the gods felt that the moon should not be as bright as the sun, so one of the gods threw a rabbit at his face to diminish his light.
Another story says Tecciztecatl was in the form of a rabbit when he sacrificed himself to become the moon, casting his shadow there. A native American Cree legend recounts the tale of a young rabbit who wished to ride the moon. Only the crane was willing to take him. The trip stretched crane's legs as the heavy rabbit held them tightly, leaving them elongated as crane's legs are now. When they reached the moon Rabbit touched Crane's head with a bleeding paw, leaving the red mark cranes wear to this day. According to the legend, Rabbit still rides the moon to this day. Easter brings the rabbit into focus and strangely links him with eggs.
Easter does not have anything to do with Jesus or the Christians. It is a festival of the moon. The name Easter comes from Eostre (the Phoenician Astarte), goddess of the moon and measurer of time. (Here we can make a connection between the female estrus). The monthly waxing and waning of the moon makes it the Destroyer of Darkness and messenger of new life and immortality. How is the rabbit associated with the moon?
One is that the hare feeds by night; another is that the hare's gestation period is one month long. It was believed that a rabbit could change its sex—like the moon. The Egyptians called the rabbit Un, which means to open, the opener. Un also meant period. Thus the rabbit became a symbol for periodicity in both the lunar and female sense of the word. The hare as "opener" symbolized the New Year at Easter; and fertility and the beginning of new life. And the rabbit carrying Easter eggs?
No connection, merely an invention of European bakers in the 19th century who confused the two images. The ancestors of the Easter Rabbit are now lost in the giant machine of commerce. This Easter, adopt a rabbit. They make very wonderful pets.
Maneka Gandhi
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I am reading an interesting book sent to me from a PFA member in Canada: ‘The Bloodless Revolution’, A Cultural History of Vegetarianism from 1600 to Modern times By Tristan Stuart. What this erudite and well researched book proves again and again is that the concept of vegetarianism as a way of life was gifted to the world by India and that every philosopher who propagated it from Pythagoras onwards learnt it from our country. Vegetarianism is such a simple concept. But the West always equated it with eating bread and water only, fasting, nut cutlets, losing huge amounts of weight, eschewing alcohol, and never telling lies…. In short, a monastic, puritanical, severe life without any joy in it. Which is why, it was seen as crazy.
It took centuries of foreign visits to India for the rest of the world to realize that you could live a life of great comfort, health and laughter without killing every other species. Once people understood, many travellers carried the philosophy back to their countries. This is the story that the book attempts to tell. How wonderful that we should have taught man how to live in harmony and how truly terrible that we have strayed so far from our own way of life that today we rejoice that we are the 4th largest meat exporter in the world, the largest leather producer and one of the three countries majorly responsible for global warming by our breeding of animals for milk and meat.
An interesting part of the book was a short history of the Mughal rulers of India and how they adopted Indian customs.
When the Afghan invader Mohammad bin Ghaur came to northern India in the 12th century he was given the title of mleccha, a beef eating barbarian. A pun on his name made it Gori -foreigner or enemy of cows - Go as in cow and ari as in enemy, eater of foul foods. The culture clash became serious and later Mughals realized the benefits of bowing to local dietary demands.
Babar was the first Mughal to rule undivided India. Humayun, his son, was the second Mughal Emperor who ruled present day Afghanistan, Pakistan, and parts of northern India. He lost his kingdom early to Sher Shah Suri, but with Persian aid, he eventually regained an even larger one. On the eve of his death in 1556, the Mughal Empire spanned almost one million square kilometres. His peaceful personality, patience and gentle speech earned him the title Insan-i-Kamil.
Plotting his revenge, Humayun cut down on his use of opium, renounced alcohol, and even became a vegetarian for a year in order to purify himself for his conquest. When he returned in 1556, he learned about Hindu customs, especially regarding meat. He shunned beef in sympathy for his Hindu subjects.
His son, the emperor Akbar was immensely impressed with Jainism, specially the part about ahimsa. He issued edicts throughout his reign forbidding the killing of animals and fish and discouraging meat eating for upto six months of the year. He renounced hunting, abstained from eating meat most of the year, and officially limited the days on which animals could be slaughtered. Such legislation had not been seen since Emperor Ashok's rock edicts of the 3rd century. His official chronicler Abu'l Fazl 'Allami writes in the Ain-I-Akbari, " His majesty has a great dis-inclination for flesh and he frequently says Providence has prepared a variety of food for man, but through ignorance and gluttony, none seem to have an eye for the beauty inherent in the prevention of cruelty, he destroys living creatures, and makes his body a tomb for beasts. If I were not a king, I would leave off eating flesh at once and now it is my intention to quit it by degrees.”
Akbar‘s favourite food was Khichri (rice and lentils) with curd and it was made every day. Akbar went to remark “Blood is the principal of life. To avoid eating thereof is to honour life."
Indologist and biographer of Akbar, Vincent Smith notes: "Akbar’s action in abstaining almost wholly from meat and in issuing stringent prohibitions, resembling those of Asoka, restricting to the narrowest limit the destruction of animal life, certainly was taken in obedience to the doctrine of his Jaina teachers." Akbar wrote and promulgated his Divine Faith (Din-I-Ilahi) that suggested a rational and ethical mysticism .The goal was union of the soul with God, and the ethics called for giving charity, sparing animals, permitting widows to remarry, and prohibiting child marriage, incest and forced sati. Beef was forbidden. Akbar declared firmans (royal decrees) banning the killing of animals during the four month Jain festivals of Paryusana and Mahavir Jayanti.
During a hunt in 1578, Akbar experienced divine revelations: his attendants told him that “the beasts of the forest had with a tongueless tongue imparted divine secrets to him… he in thanksgiving for this great boon set free many thousands of animals. Active men made endeavour that no one should touch the feather of a finch and that they should allow all the animals to depart according to their habit.” Akbar’s son and successor Jehangir praised his father publicly for doing without meat for nine months of the year calling his vegetarian food “Sufi food". Jehangir issued his own firmans continuing the practice. Jehangir continued Akbar's abstention, and even added Thursday for fasting. In 1618 he went against all the mores of his times and took a vow to stop hunting and "to injure no living thing with my own hand." One of Akbar and Jehangir's favourite imperial icons was the image of the wolf and the lion in peaceful company with the lamb and the ox.
Shah Jehan came to power in 1628 and while little is known about his diet, he had his throne in Red Fort, Delhi embellished with semi-precious stones depicting Orpheus charming animals with his music. How strange that he should choose Greek mythology's pre-eminent vegetarian!
Shah Jehan's son Aurangzeb ascended the throne in 1658 and is known for his strict adherence to Islamic practices and his distaste for local religion. Few people know that he became a strict vegetarian eating "nothing that has enjoyed life." He ate only vegetables and sweetmeats. He drank water from Ganga river, ate Khichri, and bread made from Jowar and Bajra. During Aurangzeb’s reign, the imperial kitchens developed a 'Khichri Alamgiri' named after Aurangzeb himself. Read the book and see India’s glorious heritage. Anyone can be violent. It takes true wisdom to be non-violent.
Maneka Gandhi
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Wikipedia is full of the most annoying lies about people: I suppose when you have a free encyclopaedia, then vested interests sit on the computer and write as much rubbish as they can about their target. I know that after I read nonsense about me. I complained and changed it but it has been changed back so many times that I give up.
I stopped looking at Wikipedia as a source of information. A friend has sent me a piece he came across in Wikipedia about tail docking of dogs. Since it does not involve a person, its information is correct. But what is interesting is the chart of the countries. All the civilized countries on one side and the rest on the other!
Docking is the removal of portions of an animal's tail. Tail docking occurs in one of two ways. The first involves constricting the blood supply to the tail with a rubber ligature for a few days until the tail falls off. The second involves the cutting of the tail with scissors or a scalpel. Both are very painful. Docking to puppies fewer than 10 to 14 days old was/is carried out by both breeders and veterinarians without anaesthesia.
It began in the United Kingdom in the most bizarre way. King Canute ordered that the forests were only to be hunted in by royalty. Since hunting was done by dogs, to make sure that there was no confusion, poor people’s dogs were ordered to have their tails cut so that if caught hunting, punishments could be given. This was in 1030, a thousand years ago. But did the practice die with time? No. The reasons continued to be bizarre.
I have just read about an Indian child that had pneumonia and was branded 27 times before it died – branding supposedly being a cure for many diseases. Likewise : over the centuries tail docking was thought to prevent rabies, strengthen the back, increase the animal's speed, and prevent injuries when hunting rats and fighting other dogs and bears , vicious games that the British loved and which they introduced to the rest of the world. In early Georgian times, 1714 onwards, in the United Kingdom a tax was levied upon working dogs with tails and many types of dogs were docked to differentiate them as pet dogs and avoid this tax. The tax was repealed in 1796 but the docking continued.
The 19th Century invented other reasons to mutilate the tail : to protect dogs that worked in the field, such as hunting and herding . Tails, it was claimed, could collect burrs and cause pain and infection and, due to their wagging, could get injured while moving through dense brush. Tails with long fur could collect faeces and become a cleanliness problem. By the 20th Century Kennel Clubs, dog shows and breeders had become institutionalized and had stopped giving any reason. Some breeds had to have their tails cut off. Not some hunting or working dogs, even show dogs like poodles and pet dogs. No reason or rationale for the breeds chosen for mutilation. Otherwise they would not be admitted into dog shows.
The American breed standard recommended that an undocked tail be "severely penalized." The AKC position is that ear cropping and tail docking are "acceptable practices integral to defining and preserving breed character.” How is a breed defined by having parts of it cut off?
All studies show that docking tails puts dogs at a disadvantage in several ways. First, dogs use their tails to communicate with other dogs and people; a dog without a tail is significantly handicapped in conveying fear, caution, aggression, playfulness. Certain breeds use their tails as rudders when swimming, and for balance when running, so active dogs with docked tails might be at a disadvantage. Dogs with docked tails would be approached with caution by other dogs as one part of the dog’s communication of his emotional mood is through the tail. Dogs with docked tails grow up to be more aggressive, and anti-social.
Today many countries ban cropping and docking because they consider the practices unnecessary, painful, cruel or mutilation. In Europe, the cropping of ears is prohibited in all countries that have ratified the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals. The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), the regulatory body for veterinary surgeons in the United Kingdom said that they consider tail docking to be "an unjustified mutilation and unethical unless done for therapeutic or acceptable prophylactic reasons".
In March 2006 an amendment was made to the Animal Welfare Bill that makes the docking of dogs' tails illegal, except for working dogs such as those used by the police force, the military, rescue services, pest control, and those used in connection with lawful animal shooting. Parliament voted a majority of 476 to 63. Those found guilty of unlawful docking would face a fine of up to £20,000, up to 51 weeks of imprisonment or both. In Scotland docking of any breed is illegal. The Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 contains provisions prohibiting the mutilation of domesticated animals. It is completely banned in India. In fact we were the first to ban it in 1960 but no one adhered to the ban and the Kennel Club continued its unethical practices, slavishly following the British.
Now that the British have banned it, they are more amenable to reason. But they have just received a very stern letter from the Veterinary Council of India and the Animal Welfare Board of India that no dogs will have their tails docked at any shows and any vets doing so will lose their licence. If you know of any breeders or vets doing this, let me know and we will immediately take action.
Countries that have banned it: Australia (2004), Austria (2005), Belgium (2006), Brazil, Colombia, Croatia, Canada (Banned in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia), Cyprus (1991), Czech Republic, Denmark (1996), England (2006), Estonia (2001), Finland (1996), France (2003), Germany(1998), Greece (1991), Iceland (2001), Israel (2000), Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg (1991), Netherlands (2001), Norway (1987), Poland (1997), Slovakia (2003), Slovenia (2007), South Africa (2007), Spain (banned in some autonomies), Northern Ireland (Ear Cropping Illegal). Welfare of Animals Bill progressing through the Northern Ireland Assembly proposes an outright ban on tail docking), Sweden (1989), Switzerland (1981 for ears and 1988 for tail), Turkey 2004, Virgin Islands (2005).
The biggest problem is the United States. New York and Vermont are thinking of banning but, as in most areas of stopping unnecessary violence, the United States will be the last.
Maneka Gandhi
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Parents who get pets will invariably testify that their children become better human beings since the animal came into their lives: more responsible, more sociable and with a stronger character. One of the first to investigate the influence of animals on children was the American child psychologist Boris Levinson. Levinson worked with a boy who would not speak and avoided human contact. Once, Levinson had his dog with him in the office. The boy began to interact with the dog and to Levinson's surprise spoke to the dog – after a month’s complete silence. This was the beginning of his research, which has inspired many others to investigate this area. In the last few decades, developmental psychologists have paid more attention to why some children fail to develop properly. What factors influence the development of children? The Role of Pets in Enhancing Human Well-being: Effects on Child Development by Nienke Endenburg and Ben Baarda for The Waltham Book of Human-Animal Interactions: Benefits and Responsibilities have many interesting insights.
Do pets have an influence on the development of children? Many scientists found that being attached to a pet is related to emotional stability and positive self-esteem in children. Other scientists say that it is not only social and emotional development, but also cognitive development (intelligence) that can be enhanced by owning pets. Why? Child development is an ongoing process. They have to develop intelligence and emotions as well as learn how to interact socially. What affects growth? According to the psychologist Belsky, three factors are identified: the characteristics of the child, psychology of the parents and sources of stress and support. These interact with each other and will determine how the child will develop. Psychology of the parents means their 'personalities', the 'work', ‘marital relations' and ‘parenting style' . Sources of stress and support include 'social network' and 'peer group' and 'housing conditions'.
There is scientific evidence that self-esteem is an important aspect of the development of children. Social and emotional development can be measured by self-esteem, which is built by social skills and a sense of social or moral responsibility. Cognitive development is measured when children learn to read, write and do mathematics. Social networks or loving friends and relatives enhances self-esteem contributing to mental development and protecting against stress. Parenting influences the development of the child. Parental use of reasoning, consistent discipline and expressions of warmth relate positively to self-esteem and intellectual achievement during the school-age years. A good marriage is the most important form of support.
How do pets fit into this framework of developing social emotional and cognitive development? If there are pets in the house, parents and children frequently share in taking care of the pet. Youngsters learn early to care for and nurture a dependent animal. For younger children, involvement, positive reinforcement and acceptance are important for building self-esteem. Accomplishing tasks appropriate to their age (e.g. a 3-year-old cannot walk a dog, but can help by giving it water) when taking care of the pet with their parents, makes a child feel more competent. Pre-school children enjoy imitating their parent's work.
Scientist Bergesen found that children's self-esteem scores increased significantly over a nine month period of keeping pets in their school class room. In particular, it was children with originally low self-esteem scores who showed the greatest improvements. It was found that early pet owners had higher self-esteem scores than non-pet owners. Another aspect of social-emotional development is empathy, the child's ability to understand how someone else feels. Studies show it is possible that by interacting with pets that are totally dependent on the owner, children learn to understand the feelings and needs of animals and those of fellow human beings from an early age.
Surveys found that children who owned pets felt more empathy towards other people, especially in 3-6-year-old pet-owning children rather than their non-pet-owning counterparts. Pets also have been cited as providing important 'social' support. Children when asked who they would go to with a problem regularly nominated their pets The advantages of confiding in an animal as compared to humans is that pets can make children feel unconditionally accepted. Children sense that pets will love and accept them unconditionally (even when the child gets angry or performs poorly at school) and provide a source of non-judgemental affection.
What about developing intelligence in children? Scientists have found beyond doubt that cognitive development improves through the bond between children and pets. Pet ownership facilitates language acquisition and enhances verbal skills in children as a result of the pet functioning both as a patient listener of the young child's babble which acts as a stimulus for communication from the child in the form of praise, orders, encouragement and punishment. Pets are valuable tools to educate children about life events. Two such situations, where parental reactions influence children, are when an animal is born or dies. The death of a pet and how their parents deal with sadness and loss will have an influence on how children cope with death in general throughout their lives, making the child more sensitive to pain.
Another interesting find is that dog ownership was associated with greater family cohesion. When a pet has been acquired there is an initial increase in the frequency of children's social interactions within their own home. Of families surveyed in the USA, 52% reported an increase in the time the family spent together after they acquired their pets. As many as 70% reported an increase in family happiness and fun, subsequent to pet acquisition. All the psychologists working in this area, stress that all these effects come when a pet comes into a house, when the child is pre- kindergarten. If you have just had a baby, get a dog quickly.
Maneka Gandhi
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How many times a day do you eat a cow or a pig? Every time you eat gelatin. You do not even see it so you have no idea how it is made. This is how.
Gelatin is made from decaying animal hides, boiled crushed bones, connective tissues of cattle and pigs. Animal bones, skins, and tissue are obtained from slaughter houses. Gelatin processing plants are usually located near slaughterhouses and often the owners of gelatin factories have their own slaughterhouses where animals are killed just for their skin and bones. When the animal parts arrive at the food processing plant, they are supposed to be inspected for quality and the rotten parts discarded.
There are no inspection systems in India so you can rule this out. The bones, tissues are loaded into chopping machines that cut the parts into small pieces. A gelatin factory has cow skins piled to the ceiling. The skins are left to putrefy or "cure" for about a month in vats of lime. The stench from the factory can be smelt for miles. After the hides are ripe they are put into vats of acid that disintegrates the cow hairs, skin, and cartilage. Acids and alkalines such as caustic lime or sodium carbonate are used. The gelatin obtained from acid treated raw material has been called type-A gelatin, and the gelatin obtained from alkali treated raw material is referred to as type-B gelatin. (In order to confuse buyers into thinking they are eating vegetarian alternative, many food products put Type B gelatin on their ingredients list.) This is washed in water and then cooked till it becomes a white goo or gel. The gelatin is then filtered, evaporated, dried, ground to separate the water from the gelatin solution and shipped off to different companies. By now the cow’s skin and bones have been transformed into a translucent, colourless, brittle , flavourless solid substance called gelatin. Commercially manufactured gelatin is packaged in ¼-ounce envelopes of desiccated granules, paper-thin sheets, known as leaves and meltable blocks. Sweeteners, flavourings, and colourings are added in the preparation of food gelatin.
The worldwide production amount of gelatin is about 3,00,000 tons per year, about 660 million pounds. It is used in food, pharmaceuticals, photography and cosmetics. These four industries collectively consume over 95 percent of gelatin globally. The balance 5 percent is used in abrasive paper, textiles, matches & printer rollers.
Common examples of foods that contain gelatin are gelatin desserts, jellies, trifles, aspic, marshmallows, yogurt, jelly babies, transparent sweets, jams, cream cheese, chewing gum, blancmange, charlottes, mousses, cake icing and frosting, Bavarian creams, sour cream, Turkish Delight, nougat, margarine, cake mixes, bakery glazes, meringues, ice cream, coffee, and powdered milk. It is used in jellied soups, aspic, sauces and gravies, canned ham and chicken, corned beef, sausage. It is also used in fat reduced foods to simulate the feel of fat and to create volume without adding calories. It is used for the clarification of juices, such as apple juice and vinegar. Isinglass, from the swim bladders of fish, is still used as a refining agent for wine and beer. Yellow coloured soft drinks contain gelatin as it makes beta-carotene water-soluble.
To name a few products that are available in the Indian market - mentos, altoids, Trident gum, Mints, Skittles, Starbursts , M&M’s, Cupcakes, Snicker bars, Kellogg’s Rice Krispies, Ranch Salad dressing, Hershey’s Cheetos, Twix bars, Kellogg’s Marshmallow Froot Loops cereal , Kellogg’s Smorz cereal, Kellogg’s Frosted Pop-Tarts, Kellogg’s Frosted Mini-Wheats cereal, Kellogg’s Fruit-Flavored Snacks , Milky Way, Yoplait Yoghurt.
Gelatin forms the shells of pharmaceutical capsules. Gelatin is also used as an ingredient in implantable medical devices, such as in some bone void fillers. It's also in lozenges, and ointments.
Gelatin is closely related to bone glue and is used as a binder in match heads and sandpaper. It is used to hold silver halide crystals in an emulsion in virtually all photographic films and photographic papers. Cosmetics contain gelatin under the name hydrolyzed collagen. Gelatin is also used in nail polish remover and makeup applications. The gelatin is often tinted in different colours to match a model's natural skin tone. Gelatin is found in some glossy printing papers, artistic papers, playing cards. It maintains the wrinkles in crêpe paper. Blocks of ballistic gelatin simulate muscle tissue as a standardized medium for testing firearms ammunition. It is commonly used as a biological substrate to culture cells.
Alternatives to gelatin include non-animal gel sources such as agar-agar (a seaweed), carrageenan, pectin, konjak, and guar gum but they will never be used unless you demand them.
Maneka Gandhi
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