Animal welfare activist protesting at ABC unit Raipur Kalan
In a complete irony of law, 15 sterilized street dogs, mostly old, partially deaf and blind, were cruelly picked and "detained" into a sterilizing facility run by the health department of
Municipal Corporation Chandigarh
at
Raipur Kalan
, Makhan Majra under Medical Officer Health.
On Saturday afternoon, when the dog feeder,
Payal
Puri from Manimajra went to Shivalik Garden, she discovered all the 15 dogs she feeds were missing.
"Upon enquiring, I was told that the MC van came in the morning and mercilessly shoved these old dogs into their van and detained them at Raipur Kalan," says Payal, who feeds these dogs along with some other residents in the area. She adds, "All these dogs are sterilized and vaccinated, so there's no ground for MC to pick them up. "
On reaching the ABC unit, Payal and her mother, who stayed outside the gate for six hours, well past midnight, were refused entry to see the dogs.
According to Dr Ravinder S Dhaliwal, Superintendent, Medical Officer of Health, "We acted on the complaint published in a Hindi newspaper quoting some residents. We are pressured by residents who feel unsafe while walking in that park and say these dogs bark at them." However, there is no official complaint lodged in nearby police stations or with the MC, of any dog bite cases from that garden.
"These residents approached us to take pre-emptive measures by picking up these dogs in the fear that they may bite them someday," adds Dhaliwal.
Monica Sachdeva, veteran in animal rescues who runs Kabila, an NGO for animals, alleges a mockery of the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act
, PCA, 1960 and the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules 2023. "Unless dogs are rabid, dangerous, and there is a formal complaint, how can they pick up dogs, that too 15 of them! This is illegal according to the law, which clearly states dogs cannot be picked unless there's a formal complaint or they have to be sterilized. And all these dogs are sterilized. This action is cruel for these animals, who at that old age are being subjected to a new environment."
After the intervention of Maneka Gandhi on Sunday morning, the dog feeder was allowed to see her dogs inside the facility. "This is absolutely illegal, " says Maneka, adding, "Dogs barking is hardly a reason to detain them. That's what dogs do, they bark to protect their territory. I've spoken to the MC Commissioner, and he's said these dogs will be released back into their area."
Alleges Payal, "Four out of the 15 dogs are missing, and are not inside the facility. Three out of the 11 dogs have injury marks on them, from the cruel way in which they were dragged inside the van. Our biggest fear is that the MC will relocate these old dogs, under pressure from some influential person who is making these complaints against the dogs."
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