Union Minister presents Prani Mitraaward to Blue Cross co-founder

The award was presented to him by Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Giriraj Singh for his service in the field of animal activism for the last 50 years.

The 74-year-old recalled how his father would remind him daily to work to earn the award, and work towards protecting animal rights.

“I am also very happy because receiving this award from a prestigious government body means that animal activism is becoming mainstream. This comes at a time where the Parliament is considering our amendment for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, where they are considering increasing the fine up to Rs 75,000 and a jail time of up to five years for any act that causes injury to animals. This marks a well-needed change in our society,” said Krishna.

Over his career, Krishna has won the Jeev Daya Puraskar presented by the Vice President of India, as well as awards from the Humane Society of the United States for his work following the 2004 tsunami. He has also won Karuna Award and the Life Time Award from the Humane Society International.

But according to him, the work he feels the proudest is the Blue Cross of India’s ABC (Animal Birth Control) Programme, which was initiated in 1964.

“Through this programme, we were able to convince officials that spaying and vaccinating street dogs to prevent the spread of rabies was as simple as ABC. Later on, organisations like the WHO and the World Society for the Protection of Animals also adopted the same name for their spaying and vaccination programmes. This international recognition of our local efforts is the highlight of my career,” said Krishna.