Animal Welfare Board seeks explanation from Blue Cross on 38 animal carcasses

CHENNAI: The inspection report of the Tamil Nadu Animal Welfare Board (TNAWB) has revealed that a total of 38 animal carcasses were discovered, including two adult dogs, 21 puppies and 15 kittens at the Blue Cross of India, Velachery.

Further, S Amirtha Jothi, Director of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services issued notice to the Blue Cross of India, Velachery, to submit all the records before the board within a week.

According to the report, the Blue Cross of

India veterinarian and in-charge were not able to provide details of the dead animals since the data was not available on the record book nor in the Zoho software and many of the pups seemed small, weak, sick and were unable to eat on their own and dead puppies and kittens were stacked including 20 dead puppies and 14 kittens placed on the ground.

“Dead puppies were found dumped in a sack along with the healthy puppies. Daily 40 to 50 deaths have been recorded in the incinerator room as per the Blue Cross of India. Two adult dogs were found dead without any documentation. No doctors were found who gave treatment nor fed those puppies and kittens. Spoilt fermented milk and dhal were identified. No proper feeding schedule was followed. Multiple holes and irregularities in the mud flooring. Lack of night supervision and records for treatment of most animals were unavailable. They lacked euthanasia records for cats, puppies, and kittens, whereas they showed records for cattle in hard copy format during our inspection, “the report observed.

Overall, the facility lacked adequate veterinary care, supervision and record keeping, leading to severe welfare concerns for the 1,000s of animals that are housed there every year, the report noted.

Further, the Board asked the Blue Cross of India to furnish the details such as crematorium records, euthanasia records, audited balance sheet, international grants received with bank details, details of cattle and dogs received from GCC and the grants received from government agencies from April 2020 to February 2024 within seven days.

Carcasses of puppies were dumped in a sack along with the healthy ones. Daily 40 to 50 deaths have been recorded in the incinerator room as per the Blue Cross of India, the report said