You have seen The Elephant Whisperers, now meet Chennai’s unsung animal activists

When Bomman and Bellie went up on stage to receive an award for their dedication to animal welfare, they took with them a spotlight that outlines the workers who have devoted their lives to animal welfare. These heroes were celebrated at the #iamstrongest awards by Sharon Ply at Savera Hotel recently. We explore their stories, and how their daily work creates incremental change. 

Joseph Sekar

At 6 am every day, Joseph Sekar has been feeding wild parakeets from his terrace for around 25 years. He wakes up at 4 am and cooks 75 kilograms of rice. He then readies the roof of his house, and lays out the planks and rice. Parakeets start trickling in, hanging on the wires and standing on the planks. Soon, the terrace is full. 

Sekar says he receives thousands of birds a day, with the number climbing up to 4,000 during the monsoon. He spends up to 40 percent of his income in feeding these birds, and does not have any regrets. “We are not going to take anything with us when we die,” he says, explaining why he does this everyday.

Prabha Venugopal

“Dogs, hospitals, cases, abuse,” says Prabha Venugopal. “That is how my days go by.” Prabha was a professor in accounting in Oman for 15 years. She returned for her children’s education, then stayed for the dogs.

Working with the animals for 11 years has meant that Prabha also spends a lot of time at the police station. “I go there very often, to handle cases of animal abandonment,” she says, adding that she deals with a large number of abandoned pedigree dogs. She also focuses on sheltering and vaccinating abandoned puppies, and is currently looking after more than 40.

Prabha rescues a minimum of five dogs every day, many of whom are injured. She says one of her biggest challenges, is finding a clinic late at night. “Having 24-hour veterinary clinics is of utmost importance,” she adds.

Anjali Sharma

Anjali Sharma thinks in numbers. Each vaccine is ₹500, surgeries for neutering are ₹3000 and after almost 30 years of looking after the city’s community dogs, Anjali knows that this money needs to be raised to support her work.

With more than 30 dogs living in her home, Anjali believes that neutering is one of the most important ways to improve the lives of street animals, as well as minimise animal-human conflicts.  Hence, she is on a constant mission to neuter, and encourages animal feeders to start doing the same. “Even one dog left behind will become ten in the next year, and forty in the years after that,” she says.

As for her brood of 30 rescues? They are a lot of work, she says, but also ensure she gets the world’s best welcome everytime she returns home.

Shravan Krishnan

Shravan Krishnan started his journey at the Madras Crocodile Bank as a volunteer, and sprung into the limelight during the Chennai floods when he and his team answered calls from help from all across the city, to save dogs, birds and plenty of snakes. Currently, Shravan works at and helps run the Besant Memorial Animal Dispensary (BMAD), an NGO which serves as an animal hospital and shelter. It provides veterinary services at a subsidised cost, making expensive animal care accessible. “Street animals are treated free and pets are treated at a nominal fee,” says Shravan. BMAD sees between 80 and 100 cases per day, and is currently hosting around 250 animals. Shravan also joins the forest department in animal rescues across the city.

Padma Balasubramanian and VP Balasubramanian

Padma Balasubramanian and her husband, VP Balasubramanian, started their work with a simple question: why not? The couple feed the 20-25 dogs that live on their street. They cook balanced meals of rice, meat and vegetables and distribute it to dogs every evening. Balasubramanian avoids travelling so that dogs do not miss a single day of food. The couple have been working for nearly 25 years, but have recently started taking a more active role.

Like most other activists, they are concerned with the neutering of stray animals. Preventing overpopulation will give the existing dogs a chance at a better life. It is a constant upward climb, but according to Padma, “we just love dogs, and nothing will stop us.”