NEW DELHI: Meera Jain, founder, Times Evoke & ET Evoke, on Friday said that humanity has wiped out 60 per cent of the world’s wildlife since 1970.
“One trillion animals disappear from our planet each year, 80 billion livestock are farmed for food, 2 million species face extinction today and 150000 animals perish every minute. These numbers are not valuations of companies, they are an anthology of loss,” she said.
These are reflections of how we have come to view the world of animals through the lens of a mind-numbing commodification, Meera Jain added.
“My keynote today is to unlock your conscience. We are not not waiting for the sixth extinction, we are already in the it. As apex predator, we have reshaped the world according to our own image but at the cost of our fellow sentient beings and our home planet. Our actions bear a huge price way beyond our own narrow anthropocentric plants. On last count, humanity has wiped out 60% of the world’s wildlife since 1970,” she told the gathering at The Economic Times Awards for Corporate Excellence.
The founder of Times Evoke emphasized that the expansive ‘kutumb’ cannot be confined to homo sapiens alone.
Recalling her recent visit to an animal resuce and rehab centre, Meera Jain said, “Elephants, big cats, birds, reptiles and other endangered species have been saved from poachers, traffickers and circuses globally. Today, they are looked after by dedicated conservationists from around the world”. She was referring to Vantara Rescue & Rehabilitation Center.
“From medicine to massages, organic nourishments to surgeries, these animals enjoy the warmth of positive reinforcement. The effort to achieve this transforms humanity,” Meera added.
Recognizing Anant Ambani for his project ‘Vantara’, she said, “I would like to personally recognize Anant for his dedication in creating the star of the forest ‘Vantara’. In his own words, this is an attempt to heal the environment. It is a start at rebuilding our bond with animals,” the Times Evoke & ET Evoke founder said.
She also praised Ratan Tata for the state-of-the-art hospital for small animals. “This marks a good and great use of corporate social responsibility (CSR),” she said.
Meera Jain urged the directors across Tata companies to follow suit by putting enhanced CSR into animal welfare.