THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: There are twelve kennels at the in-patient block of Government Veterinary Hospital, Petta, inaugurated in 2010, but none are being used for keeping animals. Instead, dogs which have undergone sterilisation crowd dog crates kept on the left side of the compound with two dogs locked in the same room in some of the crates. The kennels in the in-patient block are either empty or are being used as storage space for cement sacks or cartons. Empty kennels have rolls of dust on their floor. Animal husbandry director N.N. Sasi as well as health standing committee chairman K. Sreekumar said that they will enquire into it.
The dog breeding rules notified this year says, “cages or crates used to contain animals for short periods of time shall be large enough to permit the animal to stand, sit, lie and turn around in a normal manner.” However, the dogs effectively have no space to turn around, especially in the cases where two dogs were kept within the same enclosure. Moreover, the wired crates, in which the floors are also wired, have been kept outside, with the dogs practically exposed to the elements.
A malodour prevailed around the cages on Saturday. When DC asked why the kennels at the IP block were not used, corporation veterinarian E.S. Raju said, “the dogs might have been shifted to the crate because of painting. It should be ok, since the dogs need to stay there only for three days for post-operative care.” Dogs which need post-operative care should not be put in cages which don’t have a hard floor, according to I. Latha, ABC monitoring committee member. “A month ago, when asked why the kennels at the IP building were not used, the officials told us that the drainage is not ready,” she said.
