Chennai: Animal activists raise concerns over disappearance of dogs from Kannammapet pound

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.

Chennai : City-based animal activists have raised concerns over 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. When contacted, 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.

"They said Karuppa was one among the two dogs that had escaped during transportation on March 5. But how can dogs in a fully covered vehicle escape," Vani questioned.

An active member of Iyyappanthangal Animal Lovers, Vani said they had been feeding and looking after Karuppa for the past two years.

"We used to make sure the dog is vaccinated and healthy. We were also planning to take Karuppa for ABC at a private veterinary hospital in the area. But the corporation dog catchers arrived at my house early morning and took away Karuppa despite my attempts to stop them," she said.

After Karuppa was taken away by the dog catchers, Vani said she had been following up with the Kannammapet facility.

"When I called the facility, they said Karuppa was still under treatment and would be released soon. But they kept delaying it. I had also called the corporation helpline 1913 several times but to no avail," she said.

Finally, after more than a week of searching, Vani managed to reach Blue Cross which helped her in getting in touch with the Kannammapet facility again.

"The employees at Blue Cross contacted the Kannammapet facility and they said Karuppa had escaped during transportation," she said.

When contacted, an official at the Kannammapet facility confirmed that two dogs had escaped during transportation to the facility on March 5.

"We had also informed the volunteers about it. The dogs had alighted from the vehicle at least three times during transportation to adjust their chains and food bowls. But when we reached the facility, two dogs were missing," the official said.

The official added that in the past three months, at least nine dogs sent for ABC had either escaped during transportation or from the facility.

"We used to take around 10-12 dogs at a time for surgery. Out of the 12 dogs taken two months ago, eight went missing. When the corporation staff returned after 15 days to release two dogs, they still remained tight-lipped about the other dogs. When we went to the facility, the employees said the dogs had escaped by jumping out of a first-floor glass window," said R Kokila Ramanath (52) and S Jayalakshmi (46) from Ambattur who had been feeding stray dogs in the area for the past 10 years.

The activists said they had also complained to the City Police about the missing dogs.

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.