With local knowledge and wildlife experts, we can save a lot of animals: Randeep Hooda

This Bollywood actor tweets very frequently on the subject of animal cruelty, and is an ardent animal lover too! We’re sure you’ve guessed by now, that we’re talking about actor Randeep Hooda. Known for his movies such as Highway (2014), Sarabjit (2016) and others, Hooda deeply cares about animals and fosters pets.

He adopted nine horses from the NGO, Friendicoes’ shelter house in Gurugram, in 2017. And, how have they been doing? “The horses are doing great. I am no longer a part of the club but the horses are there. I have got a very close eye on them. Sadly, one of them died but others are well and have been teaching many people how to ride,” says Hooda, who was in Gurugram recently, for an event.

Giving the voiceless a platform to be heard, Hooda tweeted to Piyush Goyal, minister of railways and coal, about the sad state of railway infrastructure which has caused the deaths of many elephants.

“We have voices but animals are voiceless. I try to be their voice. We all should speak for them; at least, that’s what I try to do. The animals, specially wild animals, share a connection with humans from the primitive times. It gives us a sense of evolution... It is important to treat them ordinarily, if not specially,” says Hooda.

But, did his tweet help? Hooda feels every little thing counts. “Every gesture and step someone takes, makes a difference. On the tweet, where I tagged Mr Goyal, I got a response from his office stating they are using a bee sounding technology to deter elephants. I was also glad to see the video they shared with me,” he says. But, Hooda feels the issue is more complicated and larger than we see it.

“Whatever mistakes we have done in planning our railway and highway infrastructure, we can rectify them. With local knowledge and wildlife experts who are genuinely working for a cause, we can ensure a safe environment for the animals. Since animals follow the same path told to them by their forefathers, they are not aware of development. So, it’s our responsibility to not create a hindrance for them,” he adds.

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