Steffi Graf - Do not agree to be Kerala's Ambassador!

Dear Steffi

I am writing to you on behalf a very large number of animal lovers in India.

We have followed your public expressions of love for your dogs Buster and Yankee and your cat. It is clear that you and Andre have a great fondness for animals and view them as inseparable members of your family.

Recently, we read about the fact that you have agreed to be brand ambassador of Ayurveda for the state of Kerala in India.

It is possible that you are unaware of the ground realities with regard to animal welfare in the state.

Kerala is, as far as animal welfare is concerned, the armpit of India. There is absolutely no regard for animal life, welfare or rights. While we do not want to question the culinary choices of people, it is necessary to highlight some of the atrocities that continue unabated in Kerala. Please do take a moment to read the following, which you may wish to independently verify.

1. Kerala has the most atrocious slaughterhouse methods and management in the country. To save a few rupees and not buy a bolt gun, butchers use a hammer to the head of cows and bulls to kill them. The case with pigs is even worse. All these animals are transported in the most inhuman manner and end up with broken limbs and gored by its neighbour before it goes to the most painful death imaginable. Chillies are put in the eyes of the animals to prevent them from sleeping during transport. Every single provision of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and Slaughter House Rules of the Government are broken here and the Government does nothing to rectify this, inspite of many attempts by animal welfare organizations to halt these cruel practicess
   Here are some videos to support the above statement. Warning: Gory content :
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I37XuK-RblA
   https://mylifeforanimals.com/inhuman-treatment/red-green-chilli-cattles-eye/ 
   
   
2. Elephants are wild animals and protected under the Wildlife Protection Act. It is a keystone species and endangered as well. Yet, our brethren poach them from the Jungles at a young age and put them through the most inhuman and painful training process, breaking its spirit and relegating it into a life of chains, more beating, and pain – in the name of tradition, religion, rituals and above all the vanity of some people. These animals reach breaking point, end up running amok and killing people. Yet the demand continues… and the government does nothing to stop it.
   
   Videos:
   http://youtu.be/tSW8_A8P7dU
   http://youtu.be/20n3w3uOyr0
   https://www.facebook.com/KeralaSufferingElephants/videos/892511030790845
   
   
3. The Federal Government has provided for certain methods to help keep stray dogs from becoming an issue. In a program called Animal Birth Control (dog), strays are caught and sterilized/spayed and routinely vaccinated against rabies etc and then re-released in its home range. Unfortunately, Kerala has never implemented this ABC program in a sustained manner, and compounded with poor garbage management in the state, the State Government has behaved in the most reprehensible manner by stating that the strays can be killed (When this is against the Law) and that the Supreme Court Orders do not apply to Kerala. This has resorted to a lot of vigilante killing in the state of both strays and in some cases pets too – after which they hang the dogs in public. This is a clear case of the government shirking their responsibilities and going for a quick fix and unsustainable solution which is barbaric and inhuman. In the event Buster and Yankee accompany you on a visit to Kerala, we regret to say that their lives would be in extreme danger
   
   News Reports:
   http://m.ibtimes.co.in/stray-dog-menace-kerala-meeting-results-chaos-between-tv-anchor-ranjini-haridas-panchayat-637034
   http://www.occupyforanimals.net/kerala---tourist-information.html
   http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/hc-directive-to-tackle-stray-dog-menace/article7377136.ec

A quick google search will get you more photographic and video evidence of all of this.

As someone who is associated with a lot of humanitarian work, especially for children who look up to you as a role model, would you wish to be the brand ambassador of a state that doesn’t care for the welfare of the Voiceless?

Will you being an ambassador for Kerala give others a message that it is okay to look away from certain uncomfortable truths?

Kerala gets a lot of revenue from tourism and ayurveda, and if the Government had used one percent of that, the issues of animals could have been resolved satisfactorily.

We request you to kindly reconsider your decision to be an ambassador of ayurveda to such a cruel state and show the world that you stand for what is right.

Seeking Solidarity in our love for the voiceless.
The Animal Lovers of India.