Bill Bailey, comedian, actor and musician and valued patron of International Animal Rescue, supported the charity’s campaign against dog killing in Kerala on 2 May by joining a peaceful protest outside the Indian High Commission in London. Bill brought his two pet dogs with him - Bule and Teddi - which he and his wife Kris brought back to the UK from a rescue centre in Bali.
Bill joined Alan Knight CEO of International Animal Rescue, members of the IAR team and other animal lovers. They were acting in support of ARK (Animal Rescue Kerala) run by Avis Lyons and Citizens for Animals led by Rishi Dev, both operating in India. The group held placards and handed out leaflets to members of the public and travellers to India queuing for visas. Bill and Alan also handed in a letter for the High Commissioner asking him to intervene and stop the illegal killing of the dogs in Kerala and implement instead a proper programme of sterilisation and vaccination.
IAR’s clinic in Goa operates an effective Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme and it is the only effective way to prevent the spread of rabies and control stray populations.
Alan Knight said: “We’re extremely grateful to Bill for finding time to support this cause. Just turning up with his own much-loved pets that were once struggling to survive on the streets of Bali was a message in itself to the Indian government.”
Alan was also able to have a brief meeting with Mr Apurba De, Second Secretary to the High Commission, who assured him that the matter would be looked into. He thanked the demonstrators for bringing this matter to the attention of the High Commission and said they would be contacting Central Government in Delhi asking them to intervene in Kerala and stop the killing.
Bill Bailey became a patron of International Animal Rescue after visiting our bear sanctuary in Agra, northern India in November 2005.