
The human cost of the pandemic has been talked about in terms of job loss, mass migration and GDP fall, but animals have not invited the attention of many, says Delhi-based academic-turned-animal rescuer, Vipul Jain. Jain, studying in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) at that time, was moved by the helpless condition of around 300-plus dogs and as many cats in the campus who were dependent on the leftover food from the campus dhabas, and food fed by students and teachers.
“But all that was shut during lockdown. These animals were running all over the place for survival,” says the 40-year-old. Jain eventually dropped out of his PhD and took up animal welfare and advocacy full-time. He founded the PAWS (People for Animals, Wilderness and Sustainability) Foundation in 2023 which has grown from one to 140 volunteers at present.
Ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections, Jain has started the ‘Vote For Compassion’ campaign with mixed results. Since last month, he has met a range of political leaders—from Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva, and Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav to Rajya Sabha MP Ajay Maken. He has urged political parties to include animal welfare in their election agenda. “While politicians have assured us, they have not yet made any public or official statement on the steps that they will take for animal welfare,” he says.
The campaign, however, is getting eyeballs. “It’s about companion animals, community animals, wild animals and reared animals. I believe this is a pivotal moment to bring attention to critical issues and influence policy change,” Jain tells TMS sharing Instagram videos of the campaign, some gaining 10,000 plus views and urging Delhi voters to vote for the party that takes concrete action for animal welfare.
“Delhi has over 10 lakh plus animal and nature enthusiasts and around five lakh plus pet owners. This forms a big voting bloc. The city faces serious issues with stray cattle, illegal dairies, illegal slaughter units, and mismanagement of slaughterhouse waste. Its 77 veterinary hospitals do not function well. The help from them is either inadequate or comes late. Only large-scale government intervention can bring positive changes,” he says on a hopeful note.
Championing a cause
Born into a Jain family in Udaipur, the activist was taught about compassion right from childhood. He would feed the local animals like cats, dogs, monkeys, pigeons, and fish in the lake. When he shifted to Delhi in 2008, he took up animal rescuing. “Initially, I was dependent on other people to take action like an NGO or an animal rescuer. I gradually realised that the veterinary hospitals were crumbling.
Whenever we rescued animals like peacock or blue cows (Nilgai) the response from the wildlife department was very slow. We tried saving 50-plus peacocks, but sadly due to the delay in treatment, all of them died. The veterinary staff talks about poor budget, staff shortage, and lack of equipment. It leaves one dependent on private institutions which charge exorbitant prices,” he says.
Determined to save animals, Jain’s PAWS Foundation has been at the forefront of raising demands like safe shelters, improved dog sterilisation centres, and better veterinary care. It often puts out adoption requests for stray animals on social media. From a furry pomeranian that they found in Noida, to a pair of cats located in Palam, the mission is to give the injured, homeless, and speechless, a family.
“In the last six months, we have rescued over 50 plus dogs, 30 plus cats and 20 plus peacocks from areas like Munirka, Vasant Kunj, Vasant Vihar, RK Puram and Kishangarh village. Recently, we rescued a cat from Vasant Kunj with both legs and spine broken. But timely intervention saved her life. We also regularly feed 250 dogs and 300 plus cats,” Jain says, adding that he “organically” met animal lovers from various departments of JNU and neighbouring institutions like IIT Delhi, Indian Institute of Mass Communication, the National Institute of Immunology, and National Institute of Plant Genome Research who joined his efforts.
Why humans need to care
He tells TMS adding how animal welfare affects humans too. “The cows roaming on the streets excrete in the open and create health hazards. Their roaming can also cause road accidents. If dogs are not neutered on time and left uncared for, it can make them aggressive leading to dog bites. If meat shops go unchecked, people might be consuming poor-quality meat. Last year, there were cases of the banned oxytocin drug being injected into cows to boost milk output which harms human health.”
Jain’s campaign has several demands — from improving the dilapidated condition of 77 veterinary hospitals, improving upon existing Animal Birth Control centres (ABC), regulating pet shops in Delhi as per Pet Shop Rules 2018, and strengthening enforcement of The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (PCA), 1960, amongst other demands. He also urges citizens to be more empathetic. “One can have companions in animals, and treat them as fellow family members,” he says.