The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India on Monday filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court presenting fresh evidence of cruelty to dogs at the Tamil Nadu Animal Husbandry,Dairying and Fisheries Department’s dog-breeding unit (DBU) at Saidapet, Chennai.
The affidavit claimed that the dogs were imprisoned and denied exercise and socialisation. Despite being a government centre, the DBU breeds dogs to sell to the public, said PETA India.
PETA India’s investigation report revealed that the state government provided the Supreme Court with allegedly fabricated photographs showing proper treatment of animals, following a petition challenging the 2015 order of the Madras High Court. The petition had directed the closure of the DBU for not providing dogs with basic care and for not meeting the terms and condition set by Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), a statutory body that operates under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and registers breeders.
“PETA India’s investigator visited the DBU from 12 to 14 March 2018 and documented that none of the adult dogs or puppies were allowed to play, exercise, or socialise at any point in the areas of the facility designated for this purpose,” Mr. Sachin Bangera, associate director of celebrity and public relations, PETA India, said in a press release on Tuesday.
He further said that the photos and video footage taken by PETA India proves that this is in contradiction to what the DBU has stated in its daily activity chart, which was filed through an affidavit in the Supreme Court and claims that dogs are taken for exercise and socialisation for two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon.
The dog socialisation ground was in a state of utter neglect and indicated that the ground has probably been unused for several months except for unsavoury activities, said the PETA India official.
Such constant confinement of dogs as has been documented at the DBU is an apparent violation of Rule 24 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Dog Breeding and Marketing) Rules, 2017, and Section 11(g) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, said PETA India press release.
“The Dog Breeding Unit has shown yet again that it either can’t or won’t provide dogs with basic necessities like exercise and socialisation,” said PETA India’s senior legal associate Swati Sumbly, adding, “This cruel dog prison has falsified evidence before the Supreme Court, and PETA India is calling for it to be shut down immediately.”
PETA India began its court case against the DBU after a 2013 inspection authorised by the AWBI revealed that dogs were constantly confined to kennels with no exercise, socialisation, or grooming. In December 2016, the Madras High Court directed the closure of the DBU within two months.
In January 2017, the Tamil Nadu state government challenged the order before the Supreme Court and in February 2016, the Supreme Court stayed the order. In March 2017, the state filed an 18-page affidavit, along with 13 allegedly recent photographs of the DBU, claiming that it was in compliance with India’s animal welfare laws.
