IN - Dogs smuggled to AP for meat

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Dogs smuggled to AP for meat'

 

Author: Savie Karnel 13 Dec 2007

Residents in Hebbal catch four men trying to sell dogs to butchers in

Andhra Pradesh

http://www.mid-day.com/news/bangalore/article?_EXT_5_articleId=821325 & _EXT_5_gro\

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Heroes: Residents in Hebbal suspected something fishy and acted on time.

 

Dogs from Bangalore seem to be in demand in Andhra Pradesh not as pets, but

for their meat.

 

Yesterday, residents in Hebbal caught four men who were trying to 'smuggle'

10 dogs to Ananthpur in Andhra Pradesh. They were reportedly taking them to

the neighbouring state to sell them to butchers.

 

Residents said they caught Siddappa, Tippeswamy, Mallikarjuna and Sidda

Reddy with 10 dogs in Hebbal.

 

" A few men saw the four of them negotiating with lorry drivers near the

Hebbal flyover. They wanted to take the dogs to Ananthpur, " said R

Shantakumar, animal welfare officer, Animal Welfare Board of India.

Yesterday, two men were grazing their cattle in Hebbal, when they saw

Siddappa and the other three with the dogs. They grew suspicious and

started questioning them. Siddappa said that they would use the dogs to

guard the cattle.

 

" The residents did not believe a word of that and started thrashing them.

After a few minutes, they confessed they were selling the dogs to

butchers, " said Sujaya Jagadish, volunteer, CUPA. The men were handed over

to the Hebbal police.

 

Lorry drivers in Hebbal said they take dogs to Ananthpur every fortnight.

" They say it's a common practice. According to them these dogs were sold to

butchers and their meat is generally sold after mixing it with mutton. Each

dog is sold for Rs 300-400, " Shantakumar said.

 

The dog 'smugglers' would only target healthy strays and pets. " They

spotted stray dogs in places where not many people lived. After feeding

them, they would chain these dogs at night and take them to Andhra Pradesh

the next day, " Shantakumar added.

 

CUPA members have lodged a police complaint against the four men. The

rescued dogs have been kept in a CUPA shelter. " If the men could tell us

from where they picked up the dogs, we could release the animals in those

areas. But they don't seem to recollect it themselves, so we have to house

the dogs here, " Shantakumar said.

 

He alleged this practice continues as the police refuse to take action. " We

have caught truck drivers ferrying dogs and handed them over to the police.

But the police don't care, " he said.