Noida sacks vets after video of dogs feeding on cow carcass goes viral

NOIDA: A video of dogs purportedly feeding on a cow carcass at the district's only animal shelter in Sector 94 went viral on social media, prompting the Noida Authority to sack two vets who were at the helm of affairs for the past 10 years. Shelter workers, however, claimed on Friday that the video was shot in February but released a couple of days ago by a former aggrieved employee.
Noida Authority CEO Ritu Maheshwari told TOI that "the videos are really a matter of concern". "This is because the Authority pays around Rs 25 lakh per month towards the salaries of the employees, and food and medicine for the animals at the shelter. We have already sacked the employee who had circulated the video. However, the sackings of the two vets are still under consideration," she said.
The shelter, formerly Society to Prevent Cruelty to Animals, was taken over by the Authority in 2017.
Currently, it's home to over 700 dogs, 450 cows, and some birds.
The shelter also has some 60 employees on its payroll. In November last year, volunteers took to social media claiming the shelter was reeling under severe shortage of supplies as the Authority had nearly stopped sending animal food and medicines.
Maheshwari also said that an animal welfare organisation has been finalised and may be soon handed over the responsibilities for the upkeep of the shelter. "We have already floated nine tenders and finally, an animal welfare organisation has been shortlisted," she said.
However, according to volunteers at the shelter, the video was made by an employee in February after the supervisors there had a conflict of opinion with a veterinary doctor who was posted by Noida with signing authority. Allegations of misappropriation of funds were also reported then. "We think it is a conspiracy hatched to get the old staff members out before a new regime takes over," said a volunteer.
"The animal shelter has been facing its own set of problems from time to time. Now the Noida Authority has taken some hard decisions around it," said chief veterinary officer of Noida, Virendra Kumar Srivastava.