COIMBATORE: Thirteen dogs, out of the 16, maintained in a private breeding centre at Sivagami Nagar near Vadavalli died in a fire accident on Saturday. Three dogs that suffered severe burn injuries are under treatment.
According to police, the centre maintains and sells popular breeds from a rented building. Police said the premises were poorly maintained and suspect it to be the cause of the accident. The plants around the cages had dried up and the centre owners reportedly placed dried coconut fronds on the top of the cages to shield the dogs from heat.
Around 2 pm on Saturday, the dog keeper locked the premises and went out to buy meat to prepare lunch. While he was away, the dry plants caught fire and spread to the cages. As the cages were locked, the dogs were trapped. Neighbours tried to douse the fire and then alerted the fire services department. By the time the team arrives, 13 dogs have died. Some had died of suffocation, police said.
Animal activists inspected the place and lodged complaints with police asking them to investigate the cause of the mishap and to initiate stringent action against those who run the centre in such poor conditions.
Based on their complaint, Vadavalli police booked a case against the owners Naveen and Paul Selwyn under section 11 (1)(g) (Habitually chaining up of a pet dog by an owner) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act on Sunday. The two are absconding.