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Roar of the wild: Anushka to campaign for tigers now
Prashant Singh
Clearly, Anushka Sharma is gung-ho about doing her bit for animal welfare. So, even as she gets close to realising her dream of opening an animal shelter, the actor has now decided to put her weight behind saving tigers. Over the years, she has also been celebrated by PETA for championing animal rights. Now, we have learnt that she is set to be the face of a new campaign that aims to save tigers in the country.
“It’s a no secret that Anushka is extremely supportive about welfare of animals as well as equal rights for them. Now, taking that same commitment forward, she has joined hands with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and a TV network for Project CAT: Conserving Acers for Tigers, which aims at raising awareness to preserve the habitat of the rapidly declining tiger population, considering when it comes to wildlife species, tigers are at a huge risk. So, they need urgent protection and care,” says an insider, close to her.
Interestingly, the news comes close on the heels of ‘man-eater’ tigress Avni getting shot dead in the Yavatmal district, in Maharashtra, earlier this month. A number of experts feel man-animal conflicts are on the rise due to “shrinking forest space” and “human encroachments”.
Apparently, as a part of the initiative, Anushka will shoot for an awareness campaign that will be aired
THE NEWS COMES CLOSE ON THE HEELS OF ‘MANEATER’ TIGRESS AVNI GETTING SHOT DEAD IN THE YAVATMAL DISTRICT EARLIER THIS MONTH. EXPERTS FEEL MANANIMAL CONFLICTS ARE ON THE RISE.
on TV and digital platforms of an international network. Since she has consistently championed the cause of animal welfare, the actor seemed best fit to front this campaign. In fact, on her last birthday, she announced her dream project of building an animal shelter too,” adds the insider.
According to a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) estimate, there are only 3,890 tigers left in the wild across 12 Asian countries and in Russia, while at the start of the 20th century their number exceeded 1,00,000. Experts blame “habitat loss and pervasive poaching” for the same. “Anushka, on her part, will promote widespread efforts under Project CAT that is underway in India in Manas region as well as Sunderbans forest located in the coastal region of Bay of Bengal,” says the insider.