Cruelty against strays keeps growing: Swastika Mukherjee

Swastika Mukherjee’s animal activism occupies just as much of her social media timeline as her acting gigs do, if not more. “I personally respond to all calls and messages if it is regarding dogs and not humans!” she jokes. In a freewheeling chat with CT Swastika talks about her love for furries, her work with animal NGOs, and also shares her perspective on the Livestock Bill 2023.Read on…
I am looking for a place near Kolkata where I can make a shelter for dogs that have been abandoned. I am following up with a lot of people despite my hectic schedule between Kolkata and Mumbai. It is the top thing on my to-do list

My boro mama was fond of birds, there were many birds in my mamabari. Moreover, Bindhu, the first dog I was friendly with, lived in my mamabari
I like cats (too)! My friend’s cat Idli stays with me when my friend is out of town. Now, I keep sending tuna and salmon food to Idli

Thanks to social media I have a strong network of NGOs working in Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and other metros. I am constantly in touch with them. I personally respond to all calls and messages if it is regarding dogs and not human beings (laughs)! I have given them a red alert mode to my social media team and my manager. If anything about dogs comes up at any point of the day or night, it becomes a priority. When I was in university, I had a pager and ma would send me SOS messages asking me to come home if something happened to a dog. My friends in university knew whenever my pager blinks with an SOS message I will run out of the class!



I have one pet, her name is Phulki, whom I rescued from Salt Lake. In 2016 when I brought Phulki home, baba said, “abar ekta meye ke bari niea ele!” At one point of time, we had 11 strays staying in our garage
Most of us are criticising the bill as it will increase the export and import of live animals and promote animal cruelty. This is why the #SayNo toLivestock2023 Bill has been trending
There is a difference between livestock, that is part of our food chain, and domestic animals and pets. People need to understand and accept it

You chain a monkey for fun and business?
“I was so shocked to hear that a nightclub could do this! You can really chain a monkey for fun and business? You can do that? The responsibility also lies with the people who have gone there that night, isn’t it? They will not raise their voice or lodge a complaint in spite of seeing a monkey chained in the venue just for entertainment purposes. Why only blame the nightclub? We are seeing videos of posh men and women picking up the monkey and calling the monkey, ‘baby, baby!’ Have you seen how scared and petrified the monkey was? I want to question and hold up the people (I assume they are educated) who were enjoying and cuddling the chained monkey.