In case you’re not aware, 4th of October is annually celebrated as World Animal Welfare Day. It is an international day of action for animal rights and welfare, with the aim of making the world a better place for them. Thankfully, there are people out there who are working towards raising the living standards and status of our furry friends in the society! Heartwarming stories of rescue operations and random acts of kindness continue to pour in from all over. So, in honour of this day, we got in touch with Nikhil Mahesh, the founder of Umeed for Animals Foundation. It is a charitable trust for animal welfare. Read on to know more about what he has to say about animal welfare in India.
Hi Nikhil. Can you tell us how did you come up with the idea of the foundation?
Umeed started in 2015. It came into existence because my wife and I rescued a Great Dane from Gurgaon-Faridabad road and we had no place to keep her. That started a series of rescues. At one time I was fostering around 13 pups in my two-bedroom house along with my own two dogs!
So, that’s when Juhi, my wife and the co-founder, we decided to take up a place and we started Umeed. We call it a rehabilitation centre and not a shelter because we rehabilitate animals from different situations. Abandoned or injured and we treat them and put them up for adoption. We have rehabilitated and treated lots of different animals. Cats, dogs, cows, monkeys, pigs. We have also dealt with a lot of cruelty cases.
We have recently read about incidents of animal abuse and crimes against animals, could you tell us what we can do to stop this?
People in India need to understand the coexistence of every species. The more species become extinct, the more it’s going to hamper and impact the ecological balance.
So, what we at Umeed do is that we educate and impart knowledge to the kids, rather than the adults to secure the future of our animals. If you don’t like or are scared of an animal, don’t hate on them or don’t try to hurt them. And if you see someone else trying to hurt an animal or if you see an injured animal, the least you can do is report it.
Could you tell us about the impact your organisation has created so far?
So far we have helped spread a lot of awareness, especially in Gurgaon, about cruelty towards animals, be it in societies or schools. We have helped people understand the importance of animals. And of course, we have worked towards rescuing animals, helped people file FIRs, helped people understand laws for street animals and wildlife. So far we have rescued more than 300 animals and helped with around 70 animal adoptions.
What steps can people take if they witness cruelty to animals?
Like I said before if you don’t like or are scared of an animal, ignore it. Just leave it alone. And if you see someone else harming an animal or if you see an injured animal, report it. Report it with evidence. Pictures, location, description of the injury etc. Reporting an incident is the least you can do!
How can our readers volunteer with the Umeed for Animals Foundation?
We are always in need of people who would like to come and support us in any way. People can get in touch with us through our website. All our contact details are mentioned there. But, one must understand that volunteering is also a responsibility. It, not just a one or two-day thing. It is a long term commitment and you should only take it up if you are ready for or willing to take make that commitment and take up that responsibility.
You might know, 4th October is observed as Animal Welfare Day. What changes would you like to see in society and the system as a whole so that animals get better treatment?
For us its World Animal Day 365 days a year! I hope to see people becoming more aware of cruelty towards animals and the laws made for them. Animals are voiceless, they cannot speak for themselves. So the least we can do is become their voice.
Social media as we know is a very strong tool in today’s time so it can be used to spread information and awareness. There are organizations working towards animal welfare and we do whatever we possibly can but it’s still not enough. So, I urge people to come forward and help and support us!
