Height Of Cruelty - 300 Stray Dogs Poisoned & Buried On Panchayat Order In Andhra Pradesh

In a horrifying incident, over 300 stray dogs were poisoned to death and buried on the order of the panchayat of a village in Andhra Pradesh's West Godavari district, an animal rights group claims.

The dogs were reportedly killed and buried at a village in the district¡¯s Lingapalem area. An official belonging to the Challapalli Charitable Trust which is an animal rights group has filed a complaint at the Dharmajigudem police station.

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In her complaint, Sri Latha Challapalli, the animal rights group¡¯s treasurer, claimed that the village panchayat had decided to take help from members of the Dekkala community to eliminate stray dogs. Over 300 strays were injected with poison. Later, an excavator was used to dig a pit near a local pond. Thereafter, the carcasses of the deceased canines were buried in the pit, Sri Latha alleged, according to a TOI report.

¡°The killings have been happening since July 24. A local panchayat worker has been tasked by higher officials to kill the stray dogs instead of sterilizing them scientifically as per government guidelines,¡± the animal rights group¡¯s treasurer told TOI.

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Based on Sri Latha¡¯s complaint, a case has been registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. Police said necropsy of the bodies of dogs would be conducted to determine what caused their deaths. Initial probe indicates that poison injections to eliminate strays were bought from a local medical store.

In another incident, around 30 monkeys were poisoned to death, packed in gunny bags, and thrown away within the limits of Sakleshpur Police in Hassan district of Karnataka, sparking public outrage. On Friday. the Karnataka High Court took suo moto cognisance of the incident and initiated PIL proceedings.