Gauri Maulekhi is an
animal welfare
Animal welfare is the well-being of non-human animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures such as longevity ...
activist in India.
She is the Trustee of
People for Animals
People For Animals is one of India’s largest animal welfare organisations, originally founded by Maneka Gandhi in 1992. Currently, the headquarters of this organisation is located in New Delhi, with over 100 regional units located around India. ...
, India's largest animal welfare organization founded by Smt.
Maneka Gandhi, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha. A protege of Ms. Gandhi, she has led successful campaigns for animal rights, including campaign against the practice of sacrificial slaughtering of cattle.
Background
Gauri Maulekhi started working for People For Animals in
Lucknow
Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...
in 1995 as a volunteer, where she played a vital role in setting up the first animal shelter in the city. She also helped raise funds for the shelter, conducted adoption programmes for rehabilitating abandoned dogs and facilitated the coordination of animal ambulance service for animals in distress. From 2004 to 2008, she worked closely with the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in
Noida
Noida, short for New Okhla Industrial Development Authority, is a planned city located in Gautam Buddha Nagar district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Noida is a satellite city of Delhi and is a part of the National Capital Region (NCR) o ...
contributing to the organization's sheltering efforts. In 2008, she volunteered with Raahat, an animal welfare NGO in Dehradun. During this period, she actively engaged in fundraising efforts for the NGO. In 2012, she set up the Uttarakhand Chapter of People For Animals - People For Animals Uttarakhand.
Maulekhi is active internationally. She lobbied in Nepal to end the huge mass religious animal slaughter at
Gadhimai festival
Gadhimai festival is a Hindu festival held every five years in Nepal at the Gadhimai Temple of Bariyarpur, Bara, Bariyarpur, in Bara District, about south of the capital Kathmandu, and about east of the city of Kalaiya, near the Indo-Nepal bor ...
. Back in India in 2013 there was a climate disaster when the
North India floods were created by unusual torrential rain. Maulekhi helped evacuate more than 6,000 animals from the flooded
Kedarnath region. Saving these animals influenced future national policy for dealing with disasters. The plans now incorporate a consideration of animal welfare. Maulekhi also helped the campaign to end the (illegal) wildlife trade at the
Sonepur Animal Fair. These acts earned Maulekhi the
Nari Shakti Puraskar (National Award).
In 2019 Maulekhi began a campaign to get the government to realise its past commitments to improve animal welfare. She wrote to each of India's states regarding a ten year old directive to form State Animal Welfare Boards. These boards were requested by the Supreme Court and although some were created, others were not. Those that were formed were there in name only as they lacked staff or a budget. In 2020 Maulekhi asked India's Supreme Court to issue a writ to require states to create State Animal Welfare Boards.
Awards and honours
* 2013: Felicitated by Government of Uttarakhand for distinguished service in animal protection and disaster management during the Uttarakhand floods
* 2017: Lush Prize for contribution towards reducing unnecessary use of animals in laboratories
* 8 March 2018:
Nari Shakti Puraskar, the highest civilian award for women in India.
* 2018: University of Lucknow's Distinguished Alumni Award for meritorious work in animal welfare
* 2018: Outstanding Animal Protection Award from the Humane Society International at Kansas City, USA
See also
*
List of animal rights advocates
Advocates of animal rights support the philosophy of animal rights. They believe that many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as in avoiding suff ...
*
Animal Rights and Welfare in India
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maulekhi, Gauri
Animal welfare and rights in India
Animal welfare workers
Living people
Nari Shakti Puraskar winners
Year of birth missing (living people)