Nearly 80 dogs were poisoned and their bodies were burnt.
Highlights
- The farmers poisoned the dogs to death saying they were killing sheep
- Locals claim no action had been taken on their complaints
- Investigators claim only nine dogs were killed
Two farmers have been arrested in Tamil Nadu's Kancheepuram district after they allegedly killed nearly 80 dogs by poisoning them and burnt the bodies.
Police says the dogs were killed on June 4.
Locals justified the killings, saying they were rabid dogs who killed 10 of their sheep. Parading close to 10 dead sheep, locals claimed there no action was taken on their complaints against stray dogs.
"The dogs have taken away 15 of our sheep, killed 10 of them. They even bit a few of us. What about that?" said a woman.
In the nearby jungle area, there are signs of the burnt carcasses. The bodies were initially dumped there but the stench exposed the crime.
Dr Chinny Krishna, Co-Founder of Blue Cross and the Vice President, Animal Welfare Board of India, said "Had they informed about the problem of the attacks by dogs, the alpha male could have been removed. Neutering turns the male dogs less aggressive. But killing in mass scale is not a solution."
The police did not perform postmortems on the bodies. Activists are worried that without postmortem reports there wouldn't be a strong case. Police blames it on the local people for burning the canines.
"We've collected some samples, two dogs have been buried. We can still prove the crime," said a police officer.
However, investigators claim only nine dogs were killed and blame it on local people.
Killing of dogs is illegal in India. But even last year, 40 street dogs were allegedly killed by a panchayat in the Coimbatore district. Similar cases were reported in Kerala as well following dog bites.
Police have registered cases under Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and for maiming of cattle.