CHENNAI: City-based animal activists have raised concerns about the alleged disappearance of dogs sent to the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC)’s Kannammapet pound for Animal Birth Control (ABC) surgeries.
According to activists, at least nine dogs appear to have gone missing from the pound in the past three months. On their whereabouts, pound staff said the canines either escaped during transportation or from the facility. M Vani (45) of Iyyappanthangal is yet to come to terms with the disappearance of her community dog, Karuppa, which was sent for ABC on February 24.
The dog catchers allegedly insisted on taking Karuppa, which was inside her home that day. Despite her objections citing she would take the dog to a private hospital for ABC, GCC dog catchers, accompanied by a man claiming to be from local MLA’s office, allegedly put pressure on her to release the dog for surgery.
On March 6, the dog catchers while releasing the other dogs taken along with Karuppa, told Vani that Karuppa was still under treatment. However, after multiple failed attempts to contact the Kannammapet staff, she sought help from Blue Cross on March 10 which informed her that the dog was missing since March 5.
Relocating strays from their territory is illegal under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, and the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2001, and is considered a punishable offence.
R Kokila Ramanath (52) and S Jayalakshmi (46) from Ambattur reported that after calling 1913, around 10 dogs were sent for ABC at Kannammapet two months ago, but eight went missing. When corporation staff returned after 15 days to release two dogs, they still remained tight-lipped about the others. When the duo visited the facility, pound staff said the dogs had escaped by jumping out of a first-floor glass window.
“I sent them for ABC with good intentions, but now I don’t know if they are alive or not,” said Jayalakshmi. The missing dogs’ token numbers are 175, 155, 865, 950, 168, 230, 555, and 113. When contacted to check the status of these tokens, the Kannammapet staff redirected enquiries to GCC veterinary officer, who is yet to revert.
M Jaya (37), another pet owner, claimed that four of her dogs, including two which were lactating, were taken by the dog catchers on February 19. According to the ABC Rules, lactating and pregnant dogs should not be captured for sterilisation, as it can harm both the mother and puppies. By February 21, when Jaya went to the facility, she learnt that one of the lactating dogs had died. Two days later its puppies too passed away.
Accusing Kannammapet pound staff of negligence, animal activist E Martina (31) alleged that they ignore questions, block contacts, and fail to update dog status. “It is unclear whether these dogs are being relocated, dying during surgery, or truly going missing due to their carelessness,” she said, adding that two days ago in Villivakkam, a dog from Pulianthope pound was found to be released with sutures intact.
When contacted, a corporation official dismissed the allegations as false. He admitted that two dogs escaped during discharge in Vani’s case. One of them has been recovered while the other is still missing. However, he didn’t explain why the caretakers weren’t informed.