R.CircusTEL

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| Tuesday, April 05, 2005 |

THE TELEGRAPH

Front Page > Story

 

21 animals killed in circus

SATISH NANDGAONKAR

Mumbai, April 4: Twenty-one animals were charred to death in a fire

inside a Russian circus tent here.

 

Four sea lions, 10 Eskimo dogs and seven mixed-breed cats died when

they could not escape the blaze in the tent at the Chitrakoot grounds

in Andheri in the western suburbs.

 

The fire was reported around 3 pm in the tent of the Russian State

Circus Company Rosgoscirk, which had performed at Calcutta’s Netaji

indoor stadium in November 2004.

 

Fire-fighters could rescue only three Eskimo dogs with burn injuries

and the condition of one was said to be serious. They were taken to a

welfare centre run by the animal rights organisation Karuna.

 

“It was terrible to see the black, burnt animal carcasses,” said

Arvind Shah of Karuna.

 

Amitabh Gupta, the deputy commissioner of police of Zone VIII, said:

“The fire brigade authorities told us that short circuit could be one

of the likely reasons. Though we have registered a case of accidental

fire, we will do a full investigation into the case.”

 

Promoted by an event management company, Choice Events and Trade, the

circus toured Calcutta and Indore before reaching Mumbai where animal

rights groups strongly opposed its performance.

 

People for Animals, an NGO, had secured a stay order against the

circus using sea lions, Eskimo dogs and cats during performances.

 

The circus company argued that it was a foreign entity and Indian

rules could not apply to it, and succeeded in getting the stay

vacated from Bombay High Court on March 17.

 

Animal rights activists had warned the court about the negligence

shown by the circus. Dharmesh Solanki of People for Animals said:

“The circus had performed in Calcutta and Indore without permission

from the Animal Welfare Board of India.”

 

The board had asked the animal rights activists to inspect the

conditions in which the animals were kept.

 

“These animals were brought from extremely cold regions and we found

them living in extremely poor conditions,” Solanki said.

 

He added that the circus had three air-conditioners, but they were

clearly insufficient in recreating the temperatures the animals were

accustomed to in nature.

 

“When we conducted the inspection on March 6, only two air-

conditioners were working. The dogs, especially, were kept in filthy

conditions,” Solanki said.

 

Based on the inspection report, the board had refused permission to

the circus. But after the high court vacated the stay, the circus was

allowed to use the animals.

 

The carcasses were being taken away for post-mortem by the Bombay

Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. J.C. Khanna, secretary,

who had visited the spot, said:

 

“Usually circus tents use cotton cloth. But, this one used polythene

material.”

 

Peta, the animal rights organisation Pamela Anderson, among others,

promotes, has decided to write to Russian President Vladimir Putin

about the incident.

 

2005 The Telegraph. All rights reserved.

 

 

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