LUCKNOW: Complaints of cruelty against dogs have increased in the city after the Thakurganj incident in which stray dogs had mauled an eight-year-old boy to death and left his five years old sister grievously injured, claim animal rights activists.
Activist Kamna Pandey, former member of Animal Rights Commission, said she has lodged FIRs in two cruelty incidents and is getting multiple complaints daily from animal lovers.
“The first FIR has been lodged at Gudamba police station against a man who killed a puppy by cutting its leg, while the second has been lodged against a group for breaking the limbs of dogs before killing them in Husainabad area,” she added.
“We have also got reports that some people have hired private persons to kill stray dogs in their localities. People must understand that killing dogs is not the solution, and, in fact, it leads to retaliation by animals in self defence. For instance, the female dog whose puppy was killed by a man in Gudamba turned aggressive and violent and attacked a few people,” she said.
As per rules, Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) should conduct animal birth control (ABC) drives in a scientific and humane way. After the Thakurganj incident, Lucknow Municipal Corporation has stepped up its drive to sterilise stray dogs.
“Some volunteers have informed that LMC squads are using wired iron rods to catch pigs at some places, which is banned under the Prevention of Cruelty Act 1979,” Pandey informed.
Chief veterinary officer, LMC, Dr Arvind Kumar Rao refuted all allegations of cruelty by squads and said that animals are caught in the most humane way possible.
The sterilisation drive has also been stepped up and two more centres have been started, he added.
