Workers of Ramavarappadu panchayat near Vijayawada used lethal injections and sticks to kill 60 stray dogs, moved their dead bodies in Swacch Bharat van, and then dumped them in a pit. Their excuse? Increased dog bites in the Sai Model village under the panchayat. Outraged by this mass cruelty, animal welfare board member Avanigadda Nagamani complained to the police, which was reluctant to file a case until activist (and Member of Parliament) Menaka Gandhi’s office intervened.
Nagamani, with the help of locals, stopped the mass culling of dogs by the panchayat staff. The staff abandoned the injections and the van and fled, and when the activists searched the area they found packs of dead dogs lying in heaps. The panchayat staff said they were acting on the orders of the village executive officer. Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Nagamani lamented the merciless killing of the dumb creatures, which she caught on video.
A Tejovanth, secretary for the Help for Animals Society said local officials were ordering mass slaughter but not preventing the population growth of dogs or their vaccination. He pointed out that the mass dumping of animal carcasses poses a serious risk to human health by contaminating agricultural fields, air, water bodies. So far, no action has been taken against Haafpeta village panchayat secretary who ordered the culling of 70 dogs in Tenali despite lodging of a case.
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