Pet sanctuary needs financial help

Prani - The Pet Sanctuary has over 700 rescued animals and birds

Home to more than 700 rescued animals and birds, Prani - The Pet Sanctuary on Kanakapura Road, needs help to sustain itself.

Started by Sanjeev in 2017 on a three-acre land, most of the animals at Prani are exotic creatures. He says, “Most of them are bought from illegal markets and we end up rescuing them or people who move out of the country or town bring them to us.”

He points out that the animals are sensitive and people who abandon them are unaware of their needs. “We save animals that are incapable of fending for themselves in the wild and attend to their medical and daily requirements,” he points out.

On an average, the maintenance and upkeep of the animals at the sanctuary require over seven lakh. The habitat there includes animals such as horses, ponies, donkeys, cows, sheep, goats, rabbits, guinea pigs, ducks, geese, turkeys, roosters and exotic ones such as iguanas, dogs, emus, terrapins and rodents.

“The expense includes the workers we have, food for everyone, medicines and the many vet visits. We have been doing alright till now, but we are running out of resources,” he concerns. Before the pandemic, one of Prani’s way of survival was giving experiential classes to school students. Sanjeev says, “We teamed up with schools across the city where we spent an hour or so teaching the children to interact with animals and teach them about the animal kingdom. This includes everyone from international to special needs schools.”

Now, they have been conducting online sessions which would include everything from different animal behaviours to a career in the field. “It’s about Rs 1,000 per class for five days and it’s been going alright. But since schools aren’t shut, we haven’t been making a steady income,” he says.

Even though the government has given orders for schools to commence in October, Sanjeev says school managements aren’t planning to open. Sanjeev says, “We are also open for visitation but since February, we haven’t had any school children visit us and our funds are drying up. We need everyone’s compassion and generosity to take care of the animals.”

For details contact, 9742-084335 or [e-mail]