The annual Mayakka Devi fair in Chinchali draws thousands of worshippers hoping for a miracle from the Hindu goddess. For the horses, bullocks, and ponies of Karnataka, the miracle came in the form of Animal Rahat.
Bullocks Eating at Rest Camp
Devotees attending the fair typically travel hundreds of kilometers in overloaded carts pulled by animals who often suffer from lameness and dehydration. Some animals collapse from exhaustion along the way. This year, Animal Rahat hired 49 buses to transport fair attendees for free, and more than 20 villages took advantage of the service—saving 1,346 animals from having to endure the grueling trip.
Confiscating Yoke Spike
Then, eight days before the fair, Animal Rahat convinced officials to ban animals from the fairgrounds because of an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. Animal Rahat worked with media outlets to publicize the ban and assisted police checkpoints to help enforce it. Staffers patrolled fair routes with emergency kits and ambulances for suffering animals whose owners ignored the ban. Animal Rahat also provided free veterinary services and confiscated illegal devices, such as barbaric yoke spikes and whips. Veterinarians even stopped a case of horn rasping—painfully shaving layers of horn off to make bullocks appear healthier and younger.
Bullock Owner Removing Yoke Spike
To meet the needs of the animals who would soon have to make the grueling return trip, Animal Rahat set up two rest camps along the route, where tired animals could rest in the shade, drink clean water, and eat nourishing food while their owners drank complimentary tea. In one case, a bullock with a leg injury had to be treated with IV fluids, painkillers, and wound dressings. After Animal Rahat determined that the bullock could never make the 11-mile journey home, the group paid for a truck to transport him there because his owner couldn’t afford to.
Diverting Bullock Cart to Rest Camp
In total, Animal Rahat cared for more than 2,000 animals at the two rest camps, 90 with urgent medical needs. Poster galleries at the camps also educated owners about the harm caused to animals by malnutrition, overloading, and dehydration, while giving the animals themselves more time to rest.
Bullock at Rest Camp
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