NAGPUR: Animal activists from the city have raised the case of cruelty on strays in Akola with the state animal welfare board. A complaint has been filed with Member of Parliament (MP) Poonam Mahajan, who is also the board's chairperson.
In September, shocking pictures showing bleeding dogs being dragged on the road with metal hooks attached to their necks went viral on social media. After investigating in the matter, local activists found "involvement of Akola Municipal Corporation".
A team from Nagpur recently went to Akola for a meeting with local authorities. "In interactions with many residents and officials, it came to the fore that population of stray dogs was increasing and to control it, the civic body was cruelly catching dogs and leaving them outside city limits with no food or water. The dogs that would survive were turning ferocious and attacking humans," said Smita Mire, founder of Save Speechless Organisation (SSO) who recently went to Akola. In the complaint to Mahajan, Mire stated that the corporation was using untrained methods for catching dogs.
TOI could not contact municipal commissioner Ajay Lahane, who had earlier denied involvement of the civic body in photographs of bleeding dogs. However, following outcry by activists, the corporation stopped dog-catching operations. TOI learnt an animal lovers' meet was organized in Akola on Wednesday during which many NGOs volunteered to help the civic body in sterilization of dogs.
The civic body is also in talks with Post Graduate Institute Of Veterinary And Animal Sciences, Akola, to perform Animal Birth Control (ABC) operations on 2,000 female dogs. "This would not be enough. To control stray menace, ABC should be continued for five years. A training for dog-catching and operations needs to be arranged at Akola," the complainant added.
In September, shocking pictures showing bleeding dogs being dragged on the road with metal hooks attached to their necks went viral on social media. After investigating in the matter, local activists found "involvement of Akola Municipal Corporation".
A team from Nagpur recently went to Akola for a meeting with local authorities. "In interactions with many residents and officials, it came to the fore that population of stray dogs was increasing and to control it, the civic body was cruelly catching dogs and leaving them outside city limits with no food or water. The dogs that would survive were turning ferocious and attacking humans," said Smita Mire, founder of Save Speechless Organisation (SSO) who recently went to Akola. In the complaint to Mahajan, Mire stated that the corporation was using untrained methods for catching dogs.
TOI could not contact municipal commissioner Ajay Lahane, who had earlier denied involvement of the civic body in photographs of bleeding dogs. However, following outcry by activists, the corporation stopped dog-catching operations. TOI learnt an animal lovers' meet was organized in Akola on Wednesday during which many NGOs volunteered to help the civic body in sterilization of dogs.
The civic body is also in talks with Post Graduate Institute Of Veterinary And Animal Sciences, Akola, to perform Animal Birth Control (ABC) operations on 2,000 female dogs. "This would not be enough. To control stray menace, ABC should be continued for five years. A training for dog-catching and operations needs to be arranged at Akola," the complainant added.
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