DOs and DON'Ts
DOs
1. For a very good reason, they do not trust people upfront. Try approaching them while talking to them, do not make continuous eye contact in the beginning, this might come off as aggressive. If they bark, growl, show you their teeth or do any other action that screams ‘back off’, please do back off. Consent is taken very very seriously in the animal kingdom.
2. If they let you approach them, great, you are just about to make a friend for life. Let them smell you, that’s how they are going to remember you in future.
3. Talk to them in a calm voice and look them in their eye (once they know you), they do not understand language but they understand tones.
4. If you are very scared of them or just don’t like them, just walk away, no animal attacks unless provoked. Please don’t go looking for trouble. If you think any animal has a disease or injury, report it as soon as possible. (Email us at iisc.animal.welfare@gmail.com) Timely help can really help save these wonderful souls.
DON’Ts:
1. DO NO HARM. This is the first principle and we cannot stress this enough. If you are unable to help, then please do not cause harm in all sense. Live, and let live.
2. Do Not Remove the collars. It is not in the interest of anyone to remove the collars. They provide a way to store the details of the animal in the system. The red collars represent the ones who are vaccinated and the blue represent the ones who are sterilized.
3. Do Not feed irresponsibly. Yes, it is good to feed them. It keeps the animals happy and reduces the chance that they will trouble any humans. But know the type of food and the animal before you feed them. Here are a few common examples - Milk: only in tiny quantities, curd is okay, so is powdered milk, Raw eggs: not a good food item for cats, Butter: not good, Cream Biscuits: not good for dogs (such information can easily be found online). Animals are susceptible to issues like heart disease, digestive trouble, psychological illness etc just like humans. Please ONLY Feed Responsibly if you want to.
4. Do Not tease, hit or otherwise provoke any animal. They are friendly creatures, do not give them a reason to not be so. Some of them might run away, but if even one retaliates, it will mean a series of injections for you and more conflict in the future.
Lastly, for those of you who are still unconvinced, there are laws in the Indian Penal Code to protect animals from cruelty. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act passed by the Parliament of India aims to prevent the infliction of unnecessary pain or suffering on animals. The Animal Welfare Board of India works vigorously towards the safety and welfare of the animals. As per the laws passed by the government of India a person is allowed to feed a stray animal, there are also laws that prohibit relocation of the animals from their environment and those that prohibit killing , to mention a few. Here’s a reference to read at leisure (a much more detailed account can be found here).