According to animal activist Sai Vignesh, there was an increase in cattle abandonment this lockdown period, especially in the cities. “Many owners, unable to tend to their cattle because of financial constraints, would either leave them in an area where they could free graze or sell them to illegal slaughterhouses. Either way, the number of abandoned cattle increased significantly,” he said. 

While this was not a cause of concern during the lockdown, this became an issue once the city started opening up again. The earlier low number of road accidents soon increased, especially with larger vehicles, say activists. 

“In Chennai, most accidents occur at the outskirts of the city. Many cases are seen on the OMR because it was farmland before the IT boom. But the number of deaths has picked up now due to the return of traffic on the roads,” said Anthony Rubin, an animal activist. 

The Blue Cross of India hosts a cattle shelter in Chennai for such injured animals and hosts stray cattle that have not been claimed after being round up by the Chennai Corporation. After treatment, these cattle are typically rehomed at pinjrapoles or homes for old animals. In a year, the Blue Cross shelters around 3,000 animals. 

“Once the animals are treated, we send them to our old animal shelter at Kunnam village, Kanchipuram, which currently hosts around 120 cattle. We do the best to support these animals, but need more support as it is a charitable organisation,” said Vinod Kumaar, GM (Admin), Blue Cross.