150 Stray Dogs Allegedly Killed In Karnataka

In a case of gruesome animal cruelty, 150 stray dogs were poisoned to death in a village of Karnataka on Saturday. The incident took place on 20 November in Davangere district where the villagers killed stray dogs by injecting poison and dumped them after killing.

An FIR was lodged on Monday on the basis of the complaint at the Nyamathi police station. According to the FIR, the mass killing was organized by the village panchayat with Rs. 150 being offered for every dog that was killed.  Among 150 dogs, 40 bodies of the slaughtered animals have now been recovered by the police. The bodies have been sent for postmortem.

Cruelty against dogs

After receiving several complaints from the villagers about the stray dogs, the gram panchayat organized the dog catching campaign. The campaign saw a big turnout. The incident came to light after more than a week. After several videos of cruel killings of dogs and puppies were circulated on social media.

Harish KB, an animal rights activist with the Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA), came across one such video. He then visited the village, where he found numerous dead dog bodies. The dogs were buried in an open land 4-5 km outside the village. When we visited the village, we could see remains of some dogs in the open as well.

What the police officer says

 “The investigation is underway, and we are currently awaiting the postmortem reports. The complainant alleged that around 150 dogs were killed, but so far we have been able to get 40 bodies for the postmortem. We are collecting more information about the other locations where the dogs were buried. They are yet to ascertain the cause of death,” said Hanumanthappa, the sub-inspector in-charge of investigation.

He added, “Only when the postmortem report is available can we pinpoint details of the killing. At this point, we can confirm there have been dog killings, and action will be taken based on the findings of the investigation.”

Action against mass killing

The police said apart from Section 11 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, which gives Rs 10 to Rs 100 as fines for hurting animals, serious sections under the Indian Penal Code have been registered as well.

“Cases have been registered under Sections 428 and 429, which deals with mischief by killing or maiming animals. Under these sections, if the crime in proven, the punishment could be two years of imprisonment to life imprisonment,” the police added.

What panchayat says

Rekaha, president of village panchayat, who has been named in the FIR said that they were not aware of the rules against killings stray dogs.

“People had come to the panchayat and raised complaint against the stray dog menace. There were meetings held on the issue, and during one such meeting, there was a ruckus created. So, we were forced to undertake such a measure,” she said.

Resource: the quint

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