The subject of animal welfare has evolved to be an integral point of discussion in current society. With many protests taking place to curb the issue of animal abuse, there is still a long journey to reach the destination of animal rights in Sri Lanka. Amidst archaic laws and normalised animal abuse in Sri Lanka, Paw Pulse is an organisation that strives to be a voice for animal welfare. A representative of the organisation, Ramiya Ramanan speaks to us about the status of Sri Lankan law on animal abuse and what we can do to strive towards achieving an ideal status of animal welfare.

Q TELL US A BIT ABOUT THE INCEPTION OF PAW PULSE?
Paw Pulse was founded in 2022. My friend Sash knew that my lifelong dream was to have my own animal foundation one day and he came up with the idea of starting an animal foundation early and made me the team lead.

Q TELL US A BIT ABOUT THE PROJECTS PAW PULSE HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN?
Paw Pulse’s first project was a food drive campaign. The team and I went around the streets in Colombo feeding many stray dogs and cats. We visited houses that could not afford to feed their pets on a daily basis and provided their pets with a hearty meal with loads of hugs and kisses. However, due to the current crisis, we had to temporarily halt our projects, but we will be getting back on track soon.

Q HOW WOULD YOU ASSESS THE STATUS OF ANIMAL WELFARE IN SRI LANKA?
The status of animal welfare in this country is, unfortunately, lacking the amount of justice that it deserves. Although there are many animal rights activists around the island, their voices for the voiceless are not heard enough by the relevant authorities. Little is being done to enact the Animal Welfare Bill which was drafted in 2006. By the time the Bill becomes law, many innocent animals would have been mercilessly killed or abused by then.

Q WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH ANIMAL WELFARE IN SRI LANKA AS OF RIGHT NOW?
I would say many of the biggest challenges associated with animal welfare originates from its century-old
law, which is the Cruelty to Animals Ordinance 1907. The current fine for any type of animal cruelty in Sri Lanka is a mere Rs.100 or 3 months imprisonment. Imagine how many murderers, poachers or animal abusers can easily get away with their crimes with a mere 100/- fine and a small sentence. Another major challenge faced by animal foundations. There are many animal foundations such as Animal SOS, Underdogs Sri Lanka, The Dog Care Clinic e.V and Animal Welfare and Protection Association (AWPA) among many others are working extremely hard to provide a better life and caring environment for thousands of strays under their care. These foundations face common challenges such as raising sufficient funds for their daily operations, providing a safe environment for the animals considering there are cruel people poisoning these animals at the shelter as well as many animals being dumped at these foundations’ gates. backyard breeding and puppy mills are prevalent challenges in Sri Lanka.

Q HOW CAN WE ATTRACT MORE ATTENTION TOWARDS THE DISCOURSE OF ANIMAL RIGHTS
IN THE CURRENT LEGAL SYSTEM?
Currently, many animal welfare pages are raising awareness on social media platforms regarding the ill-treatment of animals, spaying and neutering programmes, feeding campaigns and donation campaigns. Rally for Animal Rights (RARE) mainly advocates for elephant rights. Many politicians and celebrities including Cher have noticed their platforms as these individuals continuously raise awareness of animal
cruelty in Sri Lanka and have a dedicated team of animal lovers to uphold the vision of animal rights.
Therefore, I believe more attention towards the discourse of animal rights in the current legal system lies in having a dedicated group of activists who believe in the same vision as you and are fearless in voicing out their opinions on social media platforms and public to generate animal cruelty awareness to get the relevant authorities attention.

Q WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE CURRENT SYSTEM OF ANIMAL ADOPTION?
Animal adoption in Sri Lanka is problematic for many reasons. There are many people I know who have
adopted purebreds for the sake of minting money out of them by forcefully mating their dogs. Some have adopted dogs through backyard breeding. But the most persistent problem in Sri Lanka is adopting dogs and dumping them back in the streets. If you follow pages such as @guardiansofvoicelesscitizens @purrsandwoofssl @rescuepirates, @advocates_for_animals and @justiceforanimals.lk on Instagram, you’ll see countless posts on the number of animals who were once pets being dumped on the roads as their families simply don’t love them anymore or cannot afford to look after them. @tailsoffreedomsl, deals with purebred dogs who are dumped on the streets. Therefore, my advice is that if none of you can afford to look after a pet or do not have the time to provide them with the basic love, food, shelter and care that they deserve, please don’t adopt them and make their lives miserable.

Q WHAT DO YOU THINK NEEDS TO BE DONE TO IMPROVE ANIMAL WELFARE?
Firstly, the Animal Welfare Bill needs to be passed as law to bring in the desired changes in animal welfare. This bill has proposed a fine of Rs.150,000 as fine and 4 years sentence for animal cruelty. Apart from that, sterilization and neutering need to be done to avoid unwanted litter, the youth today should volunteer as much as they can in their local animal shelters. We can temporarily foster a dog or a cat until an animal rescuer finds them a permanent home, we can donate dry rations, bath products or money to animal shelters and most importantly, ADOPT AND DON’T SHOP – which means adopt a furry pal from animal shelters instead of buying them from pet stores or through unethical means! Also, whenever you’re free, do help animal rescues out in their weekly feeding rounds.

Q WHAT KIND OF A FUTURE DO YOU ENVISION FOR PAW PULSE?
I’m hoping that Paw Pulse would grow into a physical animal foundation one day. There is so much that I would love to do for the animals in Sri Lanka and that is by getting the justice that they deserve. With my team, we’ll make sure that Paw Pulse upholds its promise in developing animal welfare in the country. It’ll take time to get there but what is life without a challenge isn’t it?

BY TIRANYA YALINDEE RANASINGHE