Epaper
Residents in Hebbal catch four men trying to sell dogs to butchers in Andhra Pradesh.
Dogs from Bangalore seem to be in demand in Andhra Pradesh not as pets, but for their meat.
Yesterday, residents in Hebbal caught four men who were trying to ‘smuggle’ 10 dogs to Ananthpur in Andhra Pradesh. They were reportedly taking them to the neighboring state to sell them to butchers.
Residents said they caught Siddappa, Tippeswamy, Mallikarjuna and Sidda Reddy with 10 dogs in Hebbal.
“A few men saw four of them negotiating with lorry drivers near the Hebbal flyover. They wanted to take the dogs to Ananthpur,” said R Shantakumar, animal welfare officer, Animal Welfare Board of India.
Yesterday, two men were grazing their cattle in Hebbal. When they saw Siddappa and the other three with the dogs they grew suspicious and started questioning them. Siddappa said that they would use the dogs to guard the cattle.
“The residents did not believe a word of that and started thrashing them. After a few minutes, they confessed they were selling the dogs to butchers,” said Sujaya Jagadish, volunteer, CUPA. The men were handed over to the Hebbal police.
Lorry drivers in Hebbal said they take dogs to Ananthpur every fortnight. “They say it’s a common practice. According to them these dogs were sold to butchers and their meat is generally sold after mixing it with mutton. Each dog is sold for Rs 300-400,” Shantakumar said.
The dog ‘smugglers’ would only target healthy strays and pets. “They spotted stray dogs in places where not many people lived. After feeding them, they would chain these dogs at night and take them to Andhra Pradesh the next day,” Shantakumar added.
CUPA members have lodged a police complaint against the four men. The rescued dogs have been kept in a CUPA shelter. “If the men could tell us from where they picked up the dogs, we could release the animals in those areas. But they don’t seem to recollect it themselves, so we have to house the dogs here,” Shantakumar said.
He alleged this practice continues as the police refuse to take action. “We have caught truck drivers ferrying dogs and handed them over to the police. But the police don’t care,” he said.
Are Amala and Maneka Gandhi working seriously towards animal protection? What ever may be the reason, celebrities who start few things for their personal publicity should be condemned .If they are really interested they should really come out open and help the society rather than just giving statements.
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