World Animal Day

World Animal Day is an International Day of Action for animal rights and welfare celebrated annually on 4 October, the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals. Mission of WORLD ANIMAL DAY is to raise the status of animals in order to improve welfare standards around the globe. Building the celebration of World Animal Day unites the animal welfare movement, mobilising it into a global force to make the world a better place for all animals.  It is celebrated in different ways in every country, irrespective of nationality, religion, faith or political ideology.

Throughout history, social movements (mass actions) like World Animal Day, have always been a major vehicle for ordinary people’s participation in politics, and key in fighting for social justice and reform. The lives of animals are profoundly affected by the actions of individuals, businesses, and nations.  It’s therefore essential that, as sentient beings, their rightful status as recipients of social justice is established and translated into effective animal protection.  World Animal Day embraces all animals and the unique concerns of each, in every country. Through increased awareness and education, we can help develop a compassionate culture which feeds into legal reform and social progress to make this world a fairer place for all living creatures.  A world where animals are recognised as sentient beings and full regard is always paid to their welfare. World Animal Day has already brought about a significant and lasting contribution towards advancing animal welfare standards, and its influence will only continue to grow.

As part of commemorating World Animal Day 2022, School of Law, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Pune Lavasa Campus organised an expert talk on 4 October 2022. The invited resource persons were Ms. Vidya Ann Jacob - Assistant Professor at School of Law, CHRIST University, Bangalore & Fulbright Scholar and Ms. Akhileshwari Reddy - Senior Resident Fellow at Vidhi, Karnataka & Alumni, London School of Economics and Political Science. Ms. Reddy’s work focuses on the protection of human rights and environment. At Vidhi she has worked on various projects including those on solid waste management, waste picker welfare, urban groundwater management and human-wildlife conflict in India. She also regularly contributes to the Deccan Herald, The Wire and Down to Earth. The event was organised by Dr. Pratapsinh Salunkhe, Head of the Department and Associate Professor, School of Law, Ms. Shivani, Assistant Professor and Mr. Arjun Philip George, Assistant Professor.

65.34% of the participants found the overall structure and execution of the programme highly satisfactory. Key takeaways from the programme provided by the respondents were that the lecture helped in knowing about the steps the government is taking with respect to animals’ wellbeing, existing wildlife conservation laws are highly efficient however in this modern world with changing times, stronger censures need to be incorporated. Hence, it is more imperative than ever to pass stronger policies that are centric to animal protection. The lecture highlighted that animal life matters and should not be ignored. It discussed the importance of animals for the proper functioning of the ecological cycle.

As part of commemorating World Animal Day 2022, School of Law, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Pune Lavasa Campus organised an expert talk on 4 October 2022.