Village shelter for animals in distress

For the cows, dogs, horses, donkeys, monkeys, chickens and ducks of CYRO Kingdom, the day starts slowly but early. But when this menagerie hears the rev of a certain motorcycle, they are all up – jumping and fluttering – ready to greet their master, 28-year-old Cyrus Maclure.

As the only child of a single-mom, Maclure was always drawn to animals. They were his loyal playmates throughout his childhood.

“I grew up with a pony, several dachshunds and a lot of birds, that coexisted peacefully, totally immune to the hustle and bustle of the city life around them,” said Maclure, recalling his childhood playmates.

But as he grew up he became increasingly distressed about the treatment of animals and the lack of care given to the many hurt and abandoned animals on the outskirts of Lucknow. While there might be care and vets readily available in the city, Maclure noticed a gap in the rural areas.

At the young age of 14-years-old, his passion became his vocation when he rented land, and slowly but surely, set up an animal shelter. Today CYRO Kingdom is spread over 25,000 square feet of land on the outskirts of Lucknow, offering a safe haven for animals in distress. He also maintains social media pages that reach animal lovers across the world.

Labour of love

Each morning Maclure pets and talks to every animal in his “kingdom” as he and his staff let the animals out of their enclosure where they rested for the night. Maclure makes a quick inspection of the shelter, ensuring that everything is in order, before attending to the administrative work running such a shelter requires.

Two veterinarians visit the shelter every day. Maclure supervises the work, as he knows which animals need attention.

The shelter has become not just a beacon for animal lovers, but smallholding farmers in the area, whose one or two animals might provide the bulk of their income. Maclure and his veterinarians provide the medical aid free of cost.

The animals are left to roam freely until the whistle blows at 5pm when they know it’s time to return to their enclosures. Maclure’s herding dogs give a gentle nudge to the reluctant ones.

But running a shelter is not hunky-dory always. Every day brings a new challenge. 

The recent deluge of rain in Lucknow flooded large areas of the shelter. Everyone worked hard to drain the water, rushing around to shift the smaller animals to higher ground, while ensuring the leeches and snakes were kept away.

Cow milk helps the shelter with costs

Running such a shelter costs money. Animal feed can be pricey as can be the medical expenses. Maclure is a part-time English tutor and uses most of his earnings from teaching to support the shelter. Luckily some of his animals help provide a source of income too.

“Off-farm produce, like fodder and milk from our four cows, help meet half the running cost,” said Maclure. “My mother and I contribute the rest.”

Local animal lovers also offer donations and feed. But Maclure said he only accepts contributions when the shelter is in dire need.

Maclure is also licensed dog breeder and is keen about maintaining pedigrees in dogs. “The market is flooded with substandard, cheap dogs,” he said. Although he only does selective breeding on request.

Reaching animal lovers abroad

“This gentle guy is a hero for helpless animals,” said Amina Hasan, who is part of Maclure’s support team, often lending a hand in running the shelter.

His mother Pamela Maclure, from whom he inherited his love for animals, takes pride in his work.

“His devotion for animals leads to interesting fan moments,” she said. “One time was when an officer at the immigration counter in Colombo recognized Cyrus, and said that he and his children learnt of his work through his social media pages (Facebook and Instagram), and they were big fans.”

Maclure acknowledged that such support from family and friends does help him carry on his work. But it’s his love of animals that really motivates him.

In fact he feels that animals can help other children find their way in life too and wants to expand the shelter into a riding institution for children. He strongly believes that such a hobby would keep kids off drugs and away from negative influences. He is already teaching the children of his staff to ride.

“It’s my passion to set up a stud farm of pedigreed horses and train youngsters horse riding,” he said.

Kulsum Mustafa is an independent journalist based at Lucknow. Views are personal.