Amid the ongoing pandemic, not only are the lives of human beings at risk, but the animals in the city are also having a hard time. With restaurants shut and people not stepping out much, getting food on a daily basis for these animals has become challenging.

During such times, Citizens for Animal Protection have statistics that can put a smile on your face. They’ve revealed that over 4,000 animals in Mumbai have been fed daily through the NGO across 61 locations, Debarati Sen from The Times of India reported.

“Our initiative began with a realisation of how much the lockdown would affect the animals living on the street. These include small animals (cats, dogs) and large animals (cows, horses, camels, goats) who are dependent on humans for food. Through this initiative, we identify the areas that are affected and supply food with the help of local volunteers, so they can be fed on a daily basis,” says Sushank Tomar, from the NGO.

Reaching out to 4000+ animals

While the team has identified 70+ locations and over 6000 animals that need to be taken care of, they have managed to fend for more than 4000 on a daily basis.

Sushank says, “We have managed to deliver food to 61 locations across Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai, which include places like South Mumbai, Kalyan, Dombivali, Vasai, Virar, Mira Road, Palghar, Mahul and more. We are also crowdsourcing funds to help us purchase food supplies for these animals.”

Virtual foster parents

The team also provides a programme which allows anybody to virtually foster a large animal for 20 days. It can be done by sponsoring their food. What’s more, the virtual foster parents are also sent regular pictures and videos of the animals. According to the team, this was made to “lend a personal touch to the initiative.”

Making people tolerant towards animals

Sushank further says, “We are trying to change the attitude towards animals by making people empathetic, tolerant and less violent. In our view, animals are creators entitled to live in freedom without being hurt, abused or exploited by anyone.”

This initiative by the NGO has ensured that strays do not have to go hungry even during a pandemic like this. The efforts are applause-worthy indeed. Let us all pledge to help in any way that we can.