Nagpur: The Veterinary Officer of Nagpur Municipal Corporation Dr Gajendra Mahalle has issued show cause notices to two organisations namely The Indian Society for Animal Human Welfare and The Peoples for Animal Welfare Organisation holding them responsible for the shocking incident in which a rabid dog attacked 8 puppies that were sheltered at the NMC’s temporary animal shelter in Bhandewadi. The dog, that according to onlookers showed symptoms of rabies, was inside the garbage dumping ground and jumped the wall on May 28 morning to enter the shelter.
The NMC had on 30-6-2016 done an agreement with the two animal welfare organisations for running the Bhandewadi-based animal shelter. According to the agreement, the two organisations were responsible for appointing a registered veterinarian, treatment of all animals, monitoring of cleanliness, maintaining of daily record, etc.
Meanwhile, animal activist Ankita Shah lodged a complaint with the Municipal Commissioner regarding death of 8 puppies in Bhandewadi’s temporary animal centre due to the negligence of NMC as well as The Indian Society for Animal Human Welfare and The Peoples for Animal Welfare Organisation. Shah further pointed out that the temporary shelter house is completely illegal. “Stray dogs are the responsibility of the NMC. The Government of India has issued notification in 2001 to implement Animal Birth Control Rules 2001. It is regrettable that even after lapse of 16 years, the said rules are not at all being implemented in its true spirit in Nagpur resulting in deaths of dogs often at the illegal animal shelter house,” Shah stated.
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She further said that replying to an RTI query she had filed two years back, NMC had replied that there were no rabid dogs in the city. But there are no tests being conducted on suspected cases. Ankita added that even after 16 years of formation of rules, the local body does not have an effective anti-rabies programme.
“The dog entered the shelter and violently attacked the eight puppies by biting them on their necks. The puppies were mostly abandoned and rescued from different places,” sources said. They added that previously too, such dogs had entered the shelter many times and even tried to attack the workers.
Rabid dog normally dies within ten days but it has to be strictly kept isolated till its natural death. Sometimes, even non-rabid dogs can get aggressive due to multiple reasons. However NMC is simply dumping problematic dogs inside the garbage dump yard. Even if one of the dogs has rabies, it will spread to others as well as humans.
