पहले कपड़े उतारे, अब बंदरों के लिए भूख हड़ताल

बॉलीवुड की अपकमिंग एक्ट्रेस कविता राधेश्याम जानवरों के लिए कपड़े उतारने के बाद अब बंदरों की हिफाजत के लिए आगे आने वाली हैं। कविता ने पिछले दिनों एक बोल्ड फोटो शूट देकर काफी सनसनी फैला चुकी हैं।



दैनिक भास्कर डॉट कॉम से बातचीत करते हुए कविता ने बताया कि दिल्ली के ऑल इंडिया इंस्टीटच्यूट ऑफ मेडिकल सांइस (एम्स) में बंदरों के ऊपर जो प्रयोग किए जा रहे हैं, उससे वे बहुत दुखी हैं । उनसे जानवरों की पीड़ा देखी नहीं जा रही है। यही कारण रहा कि उन्होंने जानवरों को बचाने के लिए अपने कपड़े उतार दिए। लेकिन इस बार कपड़े नहीं बल्कि वे भूख हड़ताल का सहारा लेंगी।



उन्होंने बताया कि दुनिया में कहीं भी जानवरों पर अत्याचार होगा, वह आवाज उठाती रहेगी। इसके लिए वे कुछ भी कर गुजरने के लिए तैयार हैं।



कविता राधेश्याम को इंटरनेशनल ऑग्रनाइजेशन फॉर एनीमल प्रोटेक्शन की ब्रांड एंबेसडकर हैं। संस्था के भारत के अध्यक्ष नरेश कदान ने बताया कि जब हमनें कविता ने जानवरों की हिफाजत के लिए संपर्क किया तो वे तुरंत तैयार हो गईं। उम्मीद है कि कविता की वजह से देश में जानवरों के ऊपर अत्याचार को कम करने में मदद मिलेगी। कविता से पहले पामेला एंडरसन ने भी एम्स को एक पत्र लिख तुरंत बंदरों पर प्रयोग बंद करने की अपील कर चुके हैं। कदान ने भी एम्स को एक नोटिस भेजा है।

Pamela Anderson pressures India to end monkey testing after watching 'heartbreaking' lab video - Ms. Sukanya Kadyan

Indian laughter Khyali Saharan also wrote a letter to the Director AIIMS to shift all Monkeys to a rescue centers recognized by the CZA and advised him to adopt alternative methods of testing.

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Pamela Anderson has accused one of India's most prestigious research centres of animal cruelty.

The former Baywatch star has written to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) asking them to ban testing on monkeys.

She wrote a letter to director R.C. Deka after watching a video allegedly exposing animal cruelty at the New Delhi centre.

Scroll down to see video...

Ban monkey testing: Pamela Anderson, pictured in India last November, has written to R.C. Deka, director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences

'It broke my heart to see the suffering that is documented in the enclosed video', wrote Anderson, in a letter sent on behalf of People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

'But the animals suffering behind closed doors at AIIMS must endure this nightmare every day.'

In the letter, Anderson said dozens of monkeys are kept in 'cramped, barren, and rusty cages for years on end,' and appealed for the release of one monkey she said had been suffering at the research facility for nearly 20 years.

The former Baywatch star said she cried when she watched a video of caged monkeys at the centre (file photograph of monkey testing)

The former Playboy model says she cried while viewing the video, and described workers 'slamming' animals against their wire cages and 'taunting' the monkeys by pretending to kick them.

AIIMS officials said they had not received the letter and added the facility is 'state of the art' and insisted the animals are kept in upgraded and humane conditions.

'Firstly, we are yet to ascertain the authenticity of the letter (by Pamela Anderson).

'But considering that it has been directed by People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), we promise that the animals are kept in much better and upgraded conditions at the hospital's laboratories,' AIIMS spokesperson Y.K. Gupta said.

Gupta added: 'There are 43 monkeys at the facility, and all of them are less than 10 years of age.'

'Cruel' AIIMS Targeted - Naresh Kadyan

'Cruel' AIIMS Targeted - Naresh Kadyan

Animal rights activists including Menaka Gandhi, have demanded action against the All India Institute of Medical Sciences for cruelty to animals during tests. They have sought registration of FIRs against the errant doctors.
The People for Animals, headed by Gandhi, has complained to Delhi police Commissioner Y S Dadwal demanding FIRs against the doctors. The Organization for the Protection of Animals (OIPA) has also joined hands with PFA against the premier medical institution.

Official failure

According to OIPA, the Institutional Animals Ethics Committee (IAEC), constituted under the AIIMS administration, has failed to minimise the sufferings of laboratory animals kept in the animal house.
PETA has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking for an inspection of the facility and immediate rehabilitation of the animals "languishing" there for years.

RTI filed

OIPA has also demanded information regarding the animals through an RTI application filed with the AIIMS. It has raised questions on the number of animals housed in the animal house, the number of animals rehabilitated after completion of experiments and the types of experiments conducted.

According to OIPA, there are 68 monkeys, 90 rabbits, several sheep and an ever-multiplying number of guinea pigs and rats that are believed to be sick and dying in small cages at the AIIMS central animal facility.
Fifty of the 90 rabbits are suffering from an infectious skin disease, and several animals, including a few guinea pigs, have gone blind.

Litigation planned

Naresh Kadyan of OIPA told MiD DAY, "We have planned to move the court and are getting support from many international animal rights organisations. In a written complaint, we have asked the Delhi Police commissioner to look into the matter and to take required action. We want to rescue the animals and have sought explanation from the institute through an RTI application. AIIMS has flaunted many rules as monkeys can not be used for breeding and they have also not replaced the sick animals."

Rules in place

Using animals for medical research and testing drugs is permitted in India. But it is covered by well laid down rules to protect animals from abuse. According to the guidelines issued by the Committee for Purpose of Control and Supervision on Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA) of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, no animal should be used for experimentation for more than three years unless there is adequate justification.