CHENNAI: The bustling Vepery High Road is dotted with all kinds of establishments but the one that stands out is the sprawling Madras Veterinary College and Hospital. Much has been written about the hospital, but what is lesser known is that there is another establishment right opposite that pre-dates this hospital and has been a safe haven for animals since 1900.
The Madras Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) was started in 1877 by a band of Englishmen. The objective of the society was the prevention and suppression of cruel and improper treatment of animals, besides amelioration of their condition generally.
In 1898, the Society purchased 17 ground of land on Vepery High Road and two years later, with the munificent donation by Raja Venugopala Bahadur of Venkatagiri, a building was constructed to house the office for the Society and a hospital for animals.
The Society had Presidents who were all High Court judges. The current President of the Society is Dr Harish L Metha.
Over the years, due to a multitude of reasons, the Society has been finding it hard to live up to its ideals. The main factor is the lack of adequate funding. Being a not-for-profit organisation, the Society relies heavily on donors and volunteers. While the Society does have donors who religiously contribute, it is not enough to make the establishment work without its fair share of issues.
“We can only help the animals if the funds flow,” said ME Duraipandiyan, the executive secretary of the SPCA.
“We spend so much on food and their general upkeep. There is so much that can be done to modernise the clinic, to make more shelters or even to hire more staff. We need donors. We don’t require money but just help with building infrastructure.”
This infrastructure required includes making a more state-of-the-art clinic in addition to hiring more attendants and veterinarians who can address the vast number of cases that come in on a daily basis.
“We currently have one doctor, two attendants and two cleaners,” he said. “They handle everything. It will definitely help if we had more staff. Even when it comes to office staff, we are short. There was a time when we had 32 staff members, today we have only eight people. We only have two inspectors who work on ensuring the implementation of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. Earlier, we had around 15 inspectors of different ranks. If we have more inspectors, then we can push more cases for prosecution.”
Officials working for the Society cited low salaries as being the biggest hurdle when it comes to hiring and retaining staff. “One of the reasons we are short of staff is because the salary of the staff is low,” said Duraipandiyan. “Everyone who works here does it out of passion and love for animals but in order to hire and retain people, it is important for the salaries to be enhanced. If we receive funds from donors then we can run the place efficiently. We will also be able to build more shelters and a bigger gaushala.” The Society has one van that is used as an ambulance and officials emphasise the need for at least one more ambulance.
“We also want to request people who come to the gaushala to bring not just chappatis but other food items for cows like hay and straw because that is what they need the most,” he said. “Even if people can help with providing food for the animals, it will go a long way. We just want true animal lovers who can help us with anything that is animal oriented and not individual oriented. An organisation recently helped us by donating water bowls for stray dogs.” If you wish to contribute to the SPCA, you can transfer to the KVB Account number: 1229135000007477. The IFSC code is KVBL0001229. One can receive receipts for all donations.