Media Coverage
Stricter Guidelines Now For Pet Shops And Breeders
The rising cases of cruelty against animals prompted the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to issue fresh notice under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Pet Shop) Rules, 2018. The notified rules and regulations says “No person shall carry on or continue the business of sale or trade-in pet animals, whether retail or wholesale; or establish or operate a pet shop, or any other establishment engaged in sale, purchase or exchange of pet animals by whatever name called, without obtaining a certificate of registration.”
Labrador rescued from abusive owner
Nitesh Khare – Founder of SAS India was informed that a dog was been beaten up by the drunk owner with the mouth tied with a celotape. Supriya – the reporter of the abuse called 100 and the Police marshall had reached for the rescue. The custody of the dog was given to us by the cops. The dog has internal injuries and the leg is swollen due to the assault, she will be taken for the treatment and further care. The police has been very cooperative for the case and we need more people to get aware of these laws. We get too many cases against dog owners abusing and torturing their pets. We need people to report such cruelty because they all need to know that there are certain laws for animals and animals have equal rights as a human has on this earth.
Police have little idea about animal rights, say activists
Animal lovers from the city have constantly waged a war against animal cruelty. Be it curbing pig mafia, battling roadkill cases, reporting dog pounds or voicing against abuse of strays, they have followed the law in reporting the circumstances. However, their efforts have always hit a roadblock — cops’ lack of know how on the legal framework to deal with such cases. When Mirror spoke to two honorary animal welfare board officers (HAWO) from the city and one volunteer, all of them rued the fact of how a few hours’ job turns stretches into chaotic situation at cop stations.
Pune vendor breaks 2-month-old puppy’s jaw in latest attack on stray dogs
A vegetable vendor on Bhau Patil road hit a two month old puppy with an iron rod in a fit of rage and broke its jaw, in the latest incident of brutality against stray dogs in the city.The incident occurred on July 4 at around 1.30 pm near the Ganapati temple on Bhau Patil road.This latest incident comes within a month of mass poisoning of more than 20 stray dogs by unidentified persons in Ramwadi, Hadapsar on June 17. In April, an eight-month old puppy lost vision in its right eye after the animal was brutally hit by a man with a brick. In the latest case, animal rights activist Nikita Kadam who saw the brutal assault take place, on July 4, said, “Around 1.30 pm, I received a call from a local resident that a vegetable vendor was hitting the puppy. I immediately rushed to the spot and rescued the two-month old female puppy.
These unkempt animals in a Bopodi house are making neighbours sick
In a city known for its love of animals and strays, it is not unusual to find people who have taken to sheltering them. However, the Bharadiyas of Elphinston Road, Bopodi, have become a nuisance and health hazard for their neighbours due to the unhygienic manner in which they are rearing 30 cats and eight stray dogs in their home. After intervention by animal activists and even the health department of Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) did not help, residents in the vicinity have now sought the help of police and an honorary warden of the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) to resolve the situation. On August 5, Seema Agarwal (42), who lives on the same road, near the Bopodi railway crossing, lodged a complaint at the Khadki police station against Harish Bharadiya and his mother, Indira.
Online post on 2 cruelly caged puppies sparks a controversy
A social media post to highlight cruelty against two dogs caged in a tiny enclosure has spiraled into a controversy. Human resources (HR) professional Dipali Sinha (25) had recently posted a video on her Facebook page that showed two Lhasa Apso puppies housed in a small metal enclosure at the Fish Planet and Exotic Birds shop, owned by Rohan Shelke, on Sinhagad Road. Police allegedly forced Sinha later to take down the post after Shelke approached them, saying it was tarnishing his image.Following her post, there had been a significant outpouring of anger against the shop owner. However, Shelke claimed this was mere propaganda by the girl and her father, because he had refused to sell them dogs at the price they wanted. He also claimed that the dogs belonged to him and hence, were not for sale; he did not, however, make any justifications about the size of their cage.
Two female animal activists persecuted, no action from cops
The standoff between the city’s animal lovers and those who want to eliminate the stray population has been escalating for a while now, peppered by a number of altercations of varying intensity between the two parties. Things seem to have come to a head in recent days, however, with two female animal welfare activists now complaining of being attacked by local residents, in separate incidents at Aundh and Lohegaon. Further, both women asserted that after receiving zero cooperation against their harassment from police in their respective areas, they were finally forced to seek the help of the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), whose officer wrote directly to police commissioner (CP) Rashmi Shukla on Monday.
FIR filed after man tosses brick at 8-month-old pup
Inan appalling incident of cruelty against animals that came to light in Wadgaon Sheri, an eight-month-old puppy lost vision in his right eye after he was brutally hit by a man with a brick. The incident took place on April 26 around 10.30 pm. Swapnil Ranpise, a resident of Shilanand Housing Society, witnessed his neighbour hitting the canine who he used to feed every day. Narrating the incident, Ranpise said, “My neighbour Manoj Shethre threw a brick at the pup without provocation. The canine was not even barking at him. When I confronted him, he asked me to mind my own business. He also said that the dog had attacked him. But I had witnessed the incident and his claims are absolutely false. When I tried to reprimand him, he said that he will continue doing it and that no one can stop him.
2-month-old pup killed, found hung from a shed by activists
Yet another case of cruelty against animals has come to light. This time, a middle-aged man allegedly killed a two-month-old puppy near Shivtej slum in the city. The incident was brought to the notice of Tanmayi Lonkar, an animal activist, by her colleague who is a resident of the area and witnessed the man dragging the canine on the road. Narrating the incident, Lonkar said, “On Thursday around 9.30 am, I was informed by my colleague that a man dragged a puppy on the road near Shivtej slum area. When I reached the spot the dog was already dead. He was hung from a cement shed. After inquiring among locals, I was told that the pup had bitten a kid in the slum area a few days ago. Just to seek vengeance, the man ended up killing the dog.”
7 pups displaced by unidentified people, volunteers reunite them with mother
Nitesh Khare, founder president, Society for Animal Safety, said, “Our organisation was notified about relocation of seven puppies by members of Kunal Icon Society. However, we found the puppies and moved them to the same location with the help of police. We also warned the society’s committee, but this case will not be closed here. A case will be filed against the society and I will also be meeting the registrar to discuss the illegal activities carried out by certain members. All the societies indulging in such acts will face legal action. Also, the registrar will be asked to suspend perpetrators from their posts in the managing committee.”
Dog beaten to death in Lonavala
An incident of spine-chilling brutality has come to the fore, after it was reported that a man beat an innocent dog to death at the Parsi Colony in Lonavala in front of two children. While the shocking incident took place on March 1, the mourning caretaker of Bungalow No. 2 — with whose family the canine used to live — informed the resident of that house several days later, on March 6. On March 16, an FIR was filed by a local resident of the same colony — Shahrukh Irani, who resides at Bungalow No. 10 — against the accused manager, Satish Thorve.
Corporators seek to relocate strays in bid to woo voters
According to Meher Mathrani, animal welfare officer, Pune, the relocation of stray dogs is illegal unless specific conditions exist. “As per a Supreme Court ruling, the animals can be relocated only in case they are rabid or found to be highly aggressive. However, in many instances, people falsely complain of a dog bite so they can have the dog removed from their vicinity,” she said. Nitesh Khare, zone-1 head for Animal Law Enforcement and Rescue Team (ALERT), added, “Until six months ago, most requests for dog relocations on the civic body’s webpage came from corporators. This system was changed so that dog relocations were minimised and the SC ruling was followed. Now, our volunteers accompany the vans and ensure that dogs are identified and dropped back to their spots within a week after sterilisation.”