Special drives to mark wildlife week in Thane

Sunday, October 4, 2009 . Page 3 . Mulund Thane

To create awareness about wild life conservation, animal lovers in the city have planned several activities on the occasion of 'World Wildlife Week' which is being celebrated from October 1 to 7 and World Animal Welfare Day (October 3).

Plants and Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) Mumbai, launched its website last week to guide people about the animal welfare laws. "At times, people are keen on protecting animals from being harmed, but they don't know how to go about with it. This website will guide them with the laws related to animals. It also possesses the important phone numbers which can help them file a police complaint," said Sunish Subramanian, founder, PAWS-Mumbai.

"We have also created an email account animalvoice@rediffmail.com, where people can post their complaints. Revealing the identity is not important while filing the complaint," he added.

The website is aimed at strengthening the organisation's campaign against elephants roaming freely in city, illegal horse carriages in city areas and market of illegal wild and exotic birds.

Another NGO Haryali had organised a lecture on wildlife in Thane by Dr Dileep Gujar, deputy conservator of forest. The organisation also has plans to arrange nature trails at Koknipada region in Thane soon as a part of its Wildlife Week celebrations.

Haryali also plans to educate the masses about the bio-diversity in Thane forest and make them aware of the various projects taken up in areas near Koknipada.