New Delhi   

`Making waves for seals'

Bindu Shajan Perappadan

NEW DELHI: Joining 15 countries and more than a million children this coming October, nearly 500,000 school children from all over India will take part in the weeklong Animal Action Week celebrations.

Largest event

It is the largest animal-focused educational event organised every year by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).

The annual event has seen the participation of more than a million children from across the world and it is the fourth consecutive year that India has been invited to participate. The event in India is organised by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) along with IFAW.

The theme of the mega event this year from October 1 to 7 is "Making Waves for Seals'', which is aimed at sensitising children about wildlife and educating them about basic issues -- social, moral and political -- surrounding the killing of seals.

Besides other activities, a 15-minute film on the theme and a painting competition ("Paint a seal") is being organised, covering more than 250 schools.

Awards

Two national level winners from the painting competitions will be awarded the IFAW Young Achiever's Award at the prestigious Venu Menon Animal Awards in Delhi on February 19, 2007.

Their paintings will feature on the New Year greeting cards produced by WTI that are sent to eminent wildlife conservationists and organisational heads all over the world.

In recent years the seal population has registered a steep decline due to widespread hunting of the animals for their body parts.

Commercial hunting of seals in Russia, Greenland and Norway has threatened their existence.

Developmental activities and degradation of coastal habitats are other important threats.

IFAW and WTI formed a partnership in the year 2000 to strengthen the cause of wildlife conservation and animal welfare in India. The two organisations share concerns for a number of endangered animals including the Tibetan antelope.

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