Animal Rahat goes to fairs and festivals to treat working animals and inform their owners about proper care. The group has a presence at celebrations such as Karwani and Bail Pola (aka Bendur), festivals that celebrate working animals, and the Sangola Fair, during which tens of thousands of bullocks are bought and sold.
One of the most well-known events that Animal Rahat attends is the Chinchali Fair. This goddess festival attracts attendees from all over the region, many traveling nearly 120 miles each way. Unfortunately, lots of families make the journey via bullock-drawn cart—although Animal Rahat’s interventions have led to fewer people choosing this method. The group helps coordinate and subsidize buses to transport people to and from the festival instead of forcing bullocks to get them there. For animals who weren’t spared the arduous journey, the organization sets up camps along the way to provide exhausted animals with rest, food, water, and medical treatment. It also creates galleries of informational posters to urge people to avoid harmful practices.
See Animal Rahat in action—relieving suffering—in this video: