THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Allegations of dead dogs, unhygienic enclosures and overcrowding have surfaced at a suspected unauthorised dog shelter in Kottoor under Kuttichal panchayat, triggering a political row, with the CPM recently staging a protest in front of the panchayat office alleging a BJP-UDF nexus in the shelter’s operations.
The protest followed a seven-day stop memo issued by the panchayat directing the shelter operator, Nibu Chandran, to relocate the dogs.
Aruvikkara MLA G Stephen alleged that the facility had violated the conditions of the licence issued by the panchayat and demanded its immediate closure.
“The operating licence issued by Kuttichal panchayat was strictly intended for breeding 50 hybrid dogs. Under the guise of this approval, the operators violated the licence conditions by bringing in more than 175 stray dogs from city streets and cramming them into a residential area, causing inconvenience to local residents,” Stephen said.
The CPM has accused the BJP and the UDF of being behind the shelter’s operations.
“Moving stray dogs away from the city into peripheral residential areas like Kuttichal is completely unacceptable. We will take all necessary political and legal steps to ensure this unauthorised facility is shut down and to prevent similar operations in our constituency,” the MLA said.
The political controversy has unfolded amid allegations by animal welfare activists about the condition of dogs at the shelter.
Representatives of People for Animals (PFA) who had visited the premises alleged that three to four dogs were lying dead inside and that the carcasses had not been removed, with the enclosures full of filth.
However, Nibu Chandran refuted allegations of neglect and said the facility was established to help the corporation manage its stray dog population.
He said the shelter had been operating for around three to four months and was being expanded. He claimed that around 250 dogs were housed at the facility.
“We are expanding the facility and more enclosures are under construction. We do not catch and transport these stray dogs ourselves. We transport only our own breeding dogs,” Nibu said. According to the agreement with the corporation, the civic body will be giving `50 per dog for their upkeep at the shelter.
“Initially, the amount was Rs 45 and it was raised to Rs 50 only recently. A minimum of Rs 75 is required to meet the expenses. The fund is inadequate. We need staff, rent and food, with at least 400 grams of food for each dog. Medicines and veterinary services also need to be accounted for separately. So far, we have received less than Rs 15 lakh in funding, and the payments are recorded in the accounts,” he said.
The operator is seeking an interim stay against the panchayat’s stop memo.
“We have offered to house 50 dogs belonging to the panchayat without charging an additional amount,” he said.
PFA member Sreedevi S Kartha said volunteers will seek police permission to visit in a group to inspect the premises, clean the enclosures and feed the dogs. She alleged that volunteers had been prevented from entering and had received threats.
“We will be visiting the facility on Tuesday with police assistance. If the panchayat moves court, we will also move a joint petition,” she said.
