Animal Veggies?

MANEKA Gandhi, former minister for environment, has brought together two pet causes under one roof. Her much publicised love for animals culminated in the formation of the Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care Centre (SGACC) in 1983. Now, her passion for green options has gone a step further—the animals are surviving on a pure vegetarian diet. Says Maneka: "No animal should be slaughtered to feed another." All the animals in her care, mostly dogs and cats, eat a platter of bread, ‘chappati’ in milk and porridge in the morning; and a ‘khichri’ of rice, dal, soya nuggets, vegetables, garlic and turmeric for dinner.

But should animals be strictly vegetarian? No, argues a vehement Lt Colonel A.R. Nageshkar, secretary of the Brihanmumbai Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BSPCA). With 30 years of veterinary experience, Nageshkar says he knows enough about animals to comment that they should be kept on a diet they are habituated to and are genetically attuned to.

Maneka dismisses her opponents with characteristic highhandedness: "Veterinary doctors and schools in India are completely ignorant of animal diets." She also discounts the ‘nonsensical’ notion that nature created omnivores.

Explains Dr Sunita Shastri, director, SGACC: "What the animals need is a well-balanced diet which gives the necessary nutrition." Feeding meat, argues Shastri, has its own set of problems. Dogs and cats often suffer from dental tartar, bad breath and intestinal worms after eating bad meat. On the other hand, says Shastri, there is no difference in the protein content in meat and soyabean. Only cats need a certain enzyme, taurine, which a vegetarian diet cannot supply and has to be administered separately. Further, one theory says certain essential amino acids, found in meat protein, are absent in vegetables.

According to Lt Gen. A.K. Chatterjee, chairman, Animal Welfare Board, there is a practical side to a vegetarian diet: "As such animal care centres run on funds, it may become essential to plan a diet that provides the necessary nutrition at the best rate. Also, these centres usually look after stray animals. A non-vegetarian diet may cost more than the government provides for its poorest citizens." 

Says Chatterjee: "Often, the views on animal care are opinions borrowed from the West." It is unrealistic to expect a poor country like India to spend what the West does on animals. Again, dogs often prefer a vegetarian diet. Families with pets say their dogs often eat what is not, typically, a canine diet and continue to be healthy—replete with shiny coats.

The vegetarian camp has another line of defence. According to one view, food habits of animals change with the environment they live in and since these creatures no longer rove around in the wild, they do not need to eat meat.

But critics like Col Nageshkar argue a non-vegetarian diet actually works out to be cheaper. According to him, a vegetarian diet, comprising milk, bread, vegetables, dal, eggs, rice and 'chappati' would cost Rs 25 daily per animal, while a non-vegetarian fare of milk, bread, beef, eggs and biscuits costs only Rs 10.

Interestingly, there is a difference of opinion between Maneka and her former employees. Though she insists that the animals have been on a vegetarian diet from the beginning, veterinarians who worked there earlier say they were fed on meat initially. Also, recently, some injured kites were put on a diet of boiled eggs. Says Nageshkar: "The poor animal will eat whatever he is trained to." But dogs and cats are naturally drawn to meat. A former veterinarian with SGACC explains that dogs have teeth best suited to tearing meat. Nageshkar feels that a sudden, drastic change in the diet can be extremely damaging.

While many believe in feeding the animal what it is used to and essential supplements, Maneka talks of a well-balanced diet as one which has enough nutrients. What’s more, Maneka has an international organisation in her favour—on a recent visit to her centre, representatives of the World Society for Protection of Animals expressed no opinions against a vegetarian diet. For the moment, both camps are baring fangs on what diet suits the animal, which is blissfully unaware of the ruckus it has created.