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Newsletters - July 2008
Beware of Walking Your Pet on Main Roads  Recently, a number of large and pedigreed dogs have been coming to the Blue Cross for treatment for very shallow breathing, difficult respiratory problems and conditions that have not responded to normal treatment at their regular Vets.
A Post Mortem on a neglected pet case revealed thick coating of a tar like substance on the lungs. Enquiries revealed that the animal had been walked daily on a busy main road where the animal had been imbibing vehicle exhaust fumes constantly, plus the strong pollution of peak hour movement. We advise all pet owners to take their pets at non traffic hours, to parks which allow animals for walking, out of the way places, quieter streets and cul de sacs to avoid the chances of carbon monoxide and fuel fume poisoning and lung damage. The animals with “squat” facial structure Boxers, Pugs, Pekinese, even Pomeranians and Spitz terriers are most at risk but the large dogs, great Danes and German Shepherds which breathe deeply are also highly vulnerable and have been showing the same symptoms. So, if you love your pet and seek its long life, keep away from traffic as much as possible. Make sure that if your dog is chained for any reason for a short time each day, that it is not chained in an area where it will get a blast of fumes when you start up your vehicle. Chaining dogs in parking lots and garages is OUT. If it is difficult to get away to quieter places for walking, then structured walks (a number of rounds) on your roof if you have one is better than ground level. Even taking an auto or driving to a quieter lonely area twice a week for a long walk/run is better than a daily exposure to traffic for your pet. Besides, this will help you, too, to ”get away from it all “ and lengthen both your and your pets life. Forest Act Passed in December 2006 At a time when the world is uniting to reverse the trend of destruction that has set upon our planet, the Forest Act passed in December 2006 spells doom for the forests in India. On the one hand, rapid industrialization has  forced parts of the country's green cover to be cleaned up to make way for factories, IT parks and Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and the Forest Act only complicates matters. The UNEPs GEO 4 report states that the highest ecological footprint, which is a measure of the area and resources that human beings on average require to survive on the planet must be at 15.7 acres. Our current average is around 21.7! We are using up more space and resources than we can afford to! What does the forest act aim to do? Over the years, tribal communities in Andhra Pradesh have lost their lands to non-tribal people owing to the failure of the Scheduled Areas Land Transfer Regulation which was aimed at restoring lands that belonged to the tribals. Their livelihoods and social structures have been disturbed by communities that migrated into tribal areas thereby forcing them to move deeper into the forests. The Forest Act aims to restore these lands to the tribals and allows for 4 hectares of forest for each nuclear family of scheduled tribes and also provides for felling of up to 75 trees per hectare to allow for building of roads, canals, power lines etc. This will have a direct impact on the wildlife that these forests support pushing certain species to almost certain extinction. Also more than 50% of the 5% land allocated to the wildlife supported by these forests will be lost to the tribal communities. The Act also has grave indirect effects on the forests:
Our country is already grappling with indiscriminate deforestation and destruction of wildlife. Poachers carry on unabated and pollution of lakes and rivers continues without a pause. The Forest Act adds fuel to these already burning issues without addressing the root problem or providing solutions that are more feasible or make sense in the long run.  Tribals may have been subjected to injustice and indifference over the past few decades, but this does not solve the matter. What they need is to come out of their shell – the government must provide education, healthcare and facilitate employment, bring them into the Indian mainstream society, yet allow them to retain their roots in villages they belong to. Is the government so sure that this is what the tribals want? Don’t any of them want to be educated and be a part of the “information and growth” age that India is passing through?
The Toda tribals of Ooty prefer to build their huts where they get TV signals on road sides, rather then in the forest. Surely our insisting that their future depends on a primitive existence is neither progressive nor environmental. It is important that a compromise is worked out and the chance to abuse and destroy our natural treasures is denied to anyone, tribal or not! Respected Prime Minister, Sir, we hope you are listening! Note: Do send a letter of concern and request to abort to Forest Act to our Prime Minister and your local Leaders. Blue Cross News
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