Mumbai: An animal lover here yesterday rued the manner in which some prominent animal rights groups were suddenly concerned by the plight of an ailing elephant named Bijlee, and using her to garner publicity.
“I request them not to shed crocodile tears for Bijlee, who is in our care and improving with each day of medication, proper diet and lots of love,” Animals Matter To Me (AMTM) chief Ganesh Nayak told IANS.
Nayak claimed that 11 days ago, when Bijlee had collapsed on the road, he had called up several of prominent animal organisations for help, but got no response.
“My organisation is mainly concerned with rescuing cats, dogs and other smaller animals. For us, lifting an elephant was truly a mammoth task, but we did it, and now she is recovering well,” Nayak said.
Irked by the manner in which some well known larger organisations like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO) chose to wake up after so many days to express concern for Bijlee, Nayak alleged that they are “now trying to encash on our good work, claim credit and sideline AMTM.”
“We don’t need film stars who strip for them to make money but do not help where it is genuinely required; we need just one Amitabh Bachchan who promptly sent out appeals for us through his blog and Twitter,” Nayak said.
Elaborating, he said that since the past 11 days, Bijlee, 54, was being kept strapped on a crane as she cannot stand or sit due to weak hind leg bones. Among other things, Bijlee is suffering from arthritis and cannot walk due to a large maggot-infested wound.
So far, she has been examined by veterinarians from Assam, Agra, Pune and very soon, vets from Kerala and Bangalore will also arrive, he said. IANS
