Around 20 Stray Dogs Poisoned To Death In Pune

A shocking case of dog poisoning has come to light in Pune’s Hadapsar area. Around 20 stray dogs were found dead in Ramwadi, Hadapsar, on 15 June 2018. According to the police, 20 stray dogs are suspected to have been poisoned by unidentified persons. However, only 16 dead dogs were reported by Govinda Patole, the Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) sanitary inspector. The residents from the area said that at least three dead dogs were carried away in the civic garbage vans, while two were cremated in the area.

Sandhya Tiwari, an animal welfare activist, who heads the NGO Tails and Trees, said,

“There seems to be an increase in such poison cases in the city.”

Patole said he was on his regular rounds when he spotted two dogs lying on the side of the road.

“When I went to inspect, the residents came forward to inform that there were several dogs lying dead in various places near their homes. This is the first time I saw so many dogs dead at one spot,” said Patole.

Akash Tiwari, a volunteer with Tails and Trees, an animal rescue organisation, was woken up by a call informing him of the dead dogs in Surakshanagar, Ramtekdi, Hadapsar.

“When we reached the place, the residents had complained to the PMC that dead dogs were lying outside their houses and in their paths. We saw that dogs were not in one place, but dispersed in an area of 200 to 300 metres. We gathered them all in one place and then waited for the police to do the panchnama. We only knew that the dogs were poisoned. They were all healthy adult dogs, and were all killed in bulk within a span of eight hours,” Tiwari said.

Area residents said that the dogs appeared to have been deliberately poisoned, using chicken as bait.

“They had used a very strong poison for by the time the volunteers reached the area in the morning, the dogs were in rigid state,” said Akash.

Sandhya Tiwari said that dog lovers and animal welfare activists were helping the local municipal bodies by taking care of the strays and ensuring proper nurture and care for the strays. However, they were unhappy that the volunteers were being asked to pay a hefty sum of Rs 2,000 by PMC’s authorised agencies, when they took the indie street dogs for sterilisation.

“We are trying to work with the government agencies. We feed the dogs, befriend them and get them sterilised . We are already giving our time and energy; why should we be penalised further? These authorised agencies are supposed to get their payment from PMC,” Sandhya Tiwari said.

Previous cases of dog poisoning in the city

Baner, September 2017: 20 to 25 dogs poisoned

Pimpri, November – December 2017: 16 cases of dog poisoning

Dattawadi – January 2018 6 to 12 dogs were poisoned

Khadki: March 2018: 9 dogs poisoned

Reference: Hindustan Times

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