85 animals abandoned by villagers rescued

Arunachala Animal Sanctuary taking care of them

The animals that were rescued from Mathura Arasanoor in Tiruvannamalai recently.

Abandoned by their owners, 85 animals that were left to starve for several days found a new home after being rescued by members of Arunachala Animal Sanctuary and Rescue Shelter in Tiruvannamalai recently.

Leslie Robinson, founder/director of Arunachala Animal Sanctuary and Rescue Shelter, said he received a phone call on July 12 that several animals need to be rescued from a village – in Mathura Arasanoor, nearly 75 kmfrom Tiruvannamalai, had to be rescued.

“Five days earlier, a local politician was killed by six men from this village. They were all related. The families of the six men fled from the village fearing for their lives and abandoned their animals. Supporters of the politician burned down the houses of the families,” he said.

These supporters went on to warn the residents of the village not to feed or care for the abandoned animals – goats, cows, calves, bullocks, sheep and pigs. “The animals were left to starve for five days. On inquiry, we learned that five animals had already starved to death. We then immediately approached the Collector, who issued an order for the police to impound the animals and also directed our shelter to rescue the animals and take care of them,” he added.

The next day, the members arranged for four lorries and one smaller vehicle with three cages for pigs and left for the village. Mr. Robinson, along with head veterinary doctor Raja and a few others, accompanied by a team of policemen reached the village. “We rescued 85 animals – 56 goats, two sheep, four pigs, 17 cows/calves/bulls and six bullocks – from the village. The operation took four hours.The animals were loaded onto the vehicles and taken,” he said.

The cows, calves, bulls and bullocks were now being taken care of at a cowshed in Tiruvannamalai. Five caretakers had been arranged to take care of the animals round-the-clock, he said.

The 56 goats and two sheep had been housed at a semi-grassy area, about 25 kilometres from Tiruvannamalai. The pigs had been housed in a 12x20 feet pen at the Arunachala Animal Sanctuary and Rescue Shelter. He added that the animals had recovered well.