CHENNAI: The increased number of death of stray dogs brought for Animal Birth Control (ABC) surgeries at the Blue Cross of India’s (BCI) facility in Guindy has raised concerns among animal rights activists. While some say at least 17 stray dogs have died in the last two weeks at the facility, others claim the number could exceed 30.
BCI acknowledged the “sudden” deaths and clarified in the “recent episode” 61 dogs were picked up and 11 had died. The organisation said it follows highest standards in animal care and attributed the deaths to a spike in tick fever cases among dogs in the city. The authorities said they reached the conclusion based on an investigation done by Dr Mohammed Ali, senior veterinarian and honorary consultant for animal care at BCI.
However, activists alleged the dogs were healthy prior to ABC surgery and blamed the fatalities on improper surgical practices, inadequate post-operative care, suspected cross-infections and unhygienic housing of dogs in the facility.
An animal activist said, “Last week, I sent around 10 dogs to BCI for ABC. After surgery, they started dying one by one. Some didn’t even have proper sutures, indicating poor post-operative care,” she noted.
Another activist reportedly sent another 10 stray dogs for ABC, of which seven allegedly died. He recounted, “Just two days after the surgeries, we received a call from BCI informing us that one dog had died due to tick fever. Two days later, another dog was reported to be in serious condition and subsequently died. We demanded the release of all dogs. Three more dogs died on the streets soon after.”
Raising concerns about potential cross-infections, the activist added when he took one of the dogs which had fallen ill to the facility at night, the diagnosis was babesiosis, a parasite. “However, the dogs were vaccinated and healthy before the procedure. They fell sick only after the procedure at BCI. It seems the place is infected due to improper maintenance.”
While 11 of 61 dogs died according to BCI, it also said five were brought back for special care and are recovering, while two others are being treated onsite by a mobile hospital ambulance. It shared the letter it received from Dr Ali after his investigation, which said tick-borne diseases are currently prevalent in Chennai and its suburbs, with stress being a contributing factor to increased morbidity and mortality.
GCC Veterinary Officer J Kamal Hussain, however, said no recent tick fever has been reported in GCC-run ABC centres. However, canine distemper was reported a few months ago, and vaccinations for that have been provided in the past two months. He added the civic body has not taken any community dogs to the BCI for a year, because of the availability of its own ABC centres.