Whanganui animal activist encouraged by India visit

Sandra Kyle was photographed with Indian animal rights activist Rukmini Sekhar, during her trip to India in March. Photo / supplied

A story Whanganui animal rights activist Sandra Kyle told a producer on All India Radio convinced him to become vegetarian, she says.

Kyle returned from her all expenses paid trip to India on March 28. She went there to receive the Philip Wollen Animal Welfare Award from the Teachers' Association for Animal Rights, created by Yograj Singh, a deeply religious Hindu man.

Her radio interview would have been heard by millions, she said. During it she told the interviewer how she gets close to animals that are on trucks headed for slaughter.

"When I pat and sing to animals I can feel the connection. On more than one occasion, when they are being unloaded, a cow I have made a connection with has stopped on the ramp and turned back and looked at me, as if to say 'Can you help me?' "

After the interview the radio producer told Kyle he had decided to go vegetarian.

The Whanganui woman received her award on two occasions. One was a big one at Singh's school. In the second one she received it from Moneka Gandhi, the Minister for Women and Children in India's Narendra Modi government, and the daughter-in-law of Indira Gandhi.

It was a "pinch yourself" moment for Kyle, who has followed Gandhi's work and Indian politics.

In deciding who would win the award, Singh wanted an individual rather than a group, and he wanted to include the whole world, not just India. Kyle's name was suggested by Wollen, a charismatic Australian animal rights activist with Indian connections.

During her visit Kyle was accommodated by the Solanki family in the Indian city of Faridabad, near Delhi, for just over two weeks. During that time she visited universities and secondary schools, sometimes speaking three times a day.

She discovered that 70 per cent of Indian people eat meat, and milk is an important part of their diet. She decided not to push her own vegan diet.

Instead she told them about the benefits of a vegetarian diet - to animals, to the environment and to human health.

Her talks were well received, and she made many friends and contacts.

But effecting change for animals in a poor and very traditional society is a challenge. It was Kyle's sixth visit to India, and she was shocked to see cows that can no longer give milk let loose on the streets and scuffling in roadside rubbish to find food.

There were also a lot of wandering pariah dogs, and she gave them water when she could.

Things are improving, with more animal shelters and animal welfare groups.

"General awareness seems to be growing and there are NGOs in India now who are doing the catch, neuter, release thing, to control the population at least."

The award gave Kyle $5000 to use in her work. She plans to use it to make an expanded version of her book, Glass Walls, and contribute toward a film about her work.

She and Kirsty Thompson will continue their weekly Sunday afternoon vigils outside Land Meat in Castlecliff, and she also produces a weekly animal rights radio show, Safe and Sound, at Access Radio in Palmerston North.