Dead animals are handled with care at the shelter, says Blue Cross

Blue Cross of India refutes allegations of poor animal shelter maintenance, ensuring proper care and compassion for abandoned animals.

The Blue Cross of India (BCI) has refuted allegations made by the State Animal Welfare Board on poor maintenance of the animal welfare shelter.

The Board, following a letter from the Animal Welfare Board of India to the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) about complaints against BCI, inspected the shelter at Velachery on February 29 and said proper records of deaths and sterilisation of dogs under the Animal Birth Control programme were not being maintained. The Board found dead dogs kept in a gunny sack.

The BCI said that everyday, around 60 to 70 puppies and kittens were abandoned outside its doors, and despite their best efforts, some of them die. “When the unfortunate happens, and we lose one of these precious lives, we handle their remains with utmost care and compassion. They are placed in a gunny bag and cremated in our crematorium,” it said.

The Board makes regular monthly visits to the shelter and has not made any adverse comments so far, the BCI staff told The Hindu. In the absence of a freezer, dead animals are kept in a gunny bag. They further said all the animals under treatment were tagged, except for very young puppies, owing to practical difficulties. Records are maintained digitally, they said.

“It’s important to note that the GCC sends us a specific number of animals for birth control surgery. After performing these, the organs are collected, stored, and presented to the officials for count verification. Any accusation from anyone regarding the monetisation of these organs is baseless and false by all means,” the statement said.