Showbiz world aims to raise awareness against animal cruelty

People were outraged by the horrendous incident where several dogs and a cat were poisoned at Japan Garden City on November 22. This heartless act has united showbiz celebrities in protest, as they demanded justice and necessary steps to ensure the culprits were duly punished.

Jannatul Sumaiya Heme was among the first ones to voice out, urging people on social media to step up and save the innocent animals. Her post quickly gained momentum, bringing the incident to light for netizens. 

Actor Niloy Alamgir and his wife, activist Tasnuva Tabassum Hridi, could not stay home. They rushed to Japan Garden City, voicing their outrage on the very day that the incident took place. Following this, Jaya Ahsan joined the movement, sharing a heartfelt post condemning the brutal act and urging for stricter measures to prevent such atrocities in the future.

Earlier today, a protest was held in front of Japan Garden City, where animal lovers gathered to protest against this act and filed a general diary (GD) at Adabor Police Station against the perpetrators.

Design: Dowel Biswas

Rakibul Amil, founder and chairman of People for Animal Welfare, provided an update on the legal proceedings via his social media.

"Today, representatives from the Paw Foundation visited Adabor police station to file a written complaint and initiate legal action under the Animal Welfare Act, 2019. Moving forward, we require a report from the Department of Livestock Services, postmortem results, and a copy of the police complaint to proceed. Quazi Nawshaba Ahmed has been appointed as the coordinator by the People for Animal Welfare Foundation to manage the submission process and ensure that the necessary documents are secured. Collaboration with other individuals and animal welfare organisations is crucial to strengthening our efforts. After notifying the director general of the Department of Livestock Services, we were assured of full support, including assistance with postmortem examinations and legal actions," the post stated.

Quazi Nawshaba Ahmed told The Daily Star about the foundation's plans to prevent such cruel acts in the future. "We have filed GD at Adabor Police Station. So far, we've recovered the bodies of three dogs, which we've preserved for postmortem examinations. Based on the results, we will file a formal case. Unfortunately, we couldn't locate the bodies of the other animals."

Niloy Almagir along with activists at Japan Garden City. Photo: Collected

She added, "Thanks to social media, people are now more aware of these incidents. Similar cases have occurred before, including reports of dog poisonings in Bashundhara. Seeing the public come together to stand against this has been truly inspiring. No one has the right to harm innocent animals, and we must stay united to fight such cruelty."

Jannatul Sumaiya Heme, whose social media post helped raise awareness, shared the details with The Daily Star.

"I've always supported animal-related charities and was in touch with a makeup artiste, who was distraught and seeking help to save the dogs. In March, that individual had been harassed for feeding animals at Japan Garden City. After discovering the poisoned dogs, she posted about it online," shared Heme.

"Living in Bashundhara, I couldn't go myself, but I shared the incident with a group, and two volunteers were sent to the location. I also posted on social media, which helped spread awareness. While many visited, a team was in Saint Martin for a dog sterilisation project. I contacted Niloy bhaiya, Naila Nayem, and others for assistance. We informed the police, who eventually arrived around 10pm or 11pm on Friday. After persistent calls and even contacting the army, the police advised us to pursue legal action. For months, certain individuals had been spreading negative posters and banners like 'Wipe out Dogs', 'Stop NGOs' and all sorts of nasty messages before committing this horrific act," shared the actress.

Jaya Ahsan, another fierce animal rights activist, ardently raises awareness about animal cruelty on social media. The actress also gave insights on how the miscreants were planning on carrying out this horrible act for years.

"Six dogs and one cat were killed by poisoning, allegedly by members of the Japan Garden City Building Committee. For nearly five years, they had been attempting to carry out such an act but were prevented by protests from local animal lovers and various animal welfare organisations. On Friday, they went through with it," shared the actress.

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Other celebrities like Salman Muqtadir, Rukaiya Jahan Chamak, Khairul Basar, and director Raka Noshin Nower, also protested against the barbaric act, as the numbers grow on their side. Their voices are crucial in raising awareness about animal cruelty, and preventing such future incidents.