Honorable Officials of Greater Hyderabad and the Government of India:
I am deeply troubled by images of dogs at pounds managed by Greater Hyderabad
Municipal Corporation (GHMC). I call upon your mercy.
Please
initiate meaningful reforms for the animals under your guardianship.
Specifically, I ask you to investigate veterinarians, pound managers and staff at
Amberpet Dog Pound, Autonagar Dog Pound, Jeedimatla Dog
Pound, Patancheruvu Dog Pound and Zumerath Bazaar Dog Pound. Despite ongoing
complaints from local animal advocates and former
volunteers, dead dogs rot among the living in filthy enclosures. Ten to fifteen dogs
are packed into small cages, without food, water or space
to
move. Ravenous dogs feed on corpses. Parvo, canine corona, distemper and other deadly
viruses are epidemic. Nearly every dog is infected, as
evidenced by bloody stools and urine throughout the pounds.
I understand that unqualified staff neuter dogs, leaving animals with intestines and
blood oozing out post-surgery. Euthanasia rates are
inordinately high at these facilities, where even starved dogs are destroyed if they
fight for food. It seems that staff rely upon euthanasia as a
form
of veterinary care for injured or sick animals.
Ultimately, very few dogs leave the pounds alive. Pedigreed dogs are captured for
resale to breeders. Even pigs and primates wind up at some
pounds. The pigs are marketed to pork retailers, while monkeys are sold to
laboratories for experimentation. Like the dogs, they suffer
intensive
confinement, starvation and disease.
I urge accountability for these actions and for misappropriation of taxpayer money
for
construction, maintenance, food and medicine. It seems
that money is allocated for staff income and not much else.
Hyderabad pounds must be overhauled or shut down altogether. If facilities are unable
to comply with modern animal welfare standards, ABC
(Animal Birth Control) Programs ought to be implemented in their place. A system of
humane capture, neuter and release (to their original
habitat)
better serves laws of India, which define pounds as illegal and that no dog can be
killed, dislocated or removed from original habitat.
I respectfully ask local governance, in coordination with regulatory boards and
animal
welfare experts, to transform Hyderabad pounds into
humane ABC Units. Please hold current pound staff accountable for animal cruelty
crimes and punish them to the full extent allowed by law.
The world is now witness to these atrocities.
Sincerely,
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