I arrived a couple minutes late to the first day of conference. The formalities were about to get underway—an invocation, the welcome address, presentation of awards and a keynote speech by Maneka Gandhi—all introduced by a distinguished-looking gentleman with a deep and melodious voice. I thought, “this guy must be an actor.” And sure ‘nuff, I found out he is P.C. Ramakrishna, known as the “voice of Chennai,” a theater and voice over actor.

Bharatanatyam dancersEach day of the conference consisted of panel sessions on various topics (i.e., Farm Animals, Animals in Research, Captive Animals, Companion Animals, Ethics) broken up by two tea breaks and a lunch. Most days run over by at least 2 hours. My head was spinning with the amount of information presented. Animal welfare workers in Asia face challenges not even dreamed of by those in the U.S. (bear bile farms, killing of dogs and cats for food, little to no enforcement of animal welfare laws). In spite of their daunting tasks, most speakers were positive, and like the atmosphere of the U.S. animal conferences that I attended last year, there was a “we’re all in this together” spirit.

At the many tea breaks, lunches, and receptions, I meet people from all over the world—
V.P. Dhananjayan as a deer giving birthEgypt, the U.K., the Philippines, Hong Kong, Thailand, India, Iran, China, and elsewhere. Again, as at the U.S. conferences, it is reassuring to know that there are people everywhere who will spend their last cent or take time they don’t have to help animals.

The last day of the conference ended with a music and Bharatanatyam dance performance by V.P. Dhananjayan and Party. The dances were all based on stories about animal with incredibly complex eye and hand gestures that evoked the emotions and movements of various types of animals.