Animal rights activists in Kerala call for ‘personhood’ status for animals

Animal rights activists gathered in front of Secretariat on Saturday to advocate the ‘personhood’ status of animals.

Animal rights activists gathered in front of Secretariat on Saturday to advocate the ‘personhood’ status of animals.

The activists, holding placards and banners and shouting slogans against animal abuse, condemned the exploitation of animals for human interests.

They highlighted the increase in brutality against animals in the ‘animal agriculture’ industry, in scientific testing, and as community animals and work animals.

They sought to raise awareness about speciesism - an unjust prejudice that deems humans superior to animals. Messages on the placards emphasised the moral equivalence between the lives of different animals. “There is no moral difference between killing a dog and killing a goat or killing a human- they all suffer equally and feel the same pain,” Drushti, an activist, said.

Jayaseelan, an organiser, highlighted the lack of awareness of “standard practices” in the animal agriculture industry. Separation of mother and offspring in dairy farms, painful artificial insemination, confinement of cows and abandonment and/or slaughtering of male calves were some of the practices resorted to. India, he pointed out, was a leading exporter of beef and leather.

Responding to concerns about the economic impact of regulating such practices, Suma, an activist, underlined the need for approaching the issue from the perspective of social justice.