Five stray dogs, pet cat found dead in Ambur town

Five stray dogs and a pet cat found dead in Vivekananda Nagar, sparking an investigation by police and officials.

Five stray dogs and a pet cat were found dead in Vivekananda Nagar that comes under Ambur municipality near Tirupattur on Tuesday.

Police said that residents found the carcasses of stray dogs and a pet cat on the First Street of Vivekananda Nagar with raw meat near them around 7 a.m. Immediately, they alerted Ambur town police and municipality officials about the incident. They rushed to the spot and enquired about it with residents, shopkeepers and farmers. “It was a shocking incident that happened in the town. An inquiry has been ordered. A case will also be registered with the local police,” said P. Santhanam, commissioner, Ambur municipality.

Initial inquiry by police and civic officials revealed that a poultry farmer, Prem Anand, 37, was rearing around 60 chickens in his farmland in the town for many years. Every day, he used to leave his fowls in the open. During that time, police said that dogs including stray ones used to bark and chase some of the fowls. Residents used to control the dogs from injuring them.

Police said Mr. Anand felt that stray dogs would always be a threat for his fowls. As a result, he mixed pesticide with raw meat and kept it on streets where he found dogs on the streets the previous night.

Following the incident, a group of residents complained to the civic body. A case will be filed by Ambur Town police under section 429 of IPC (Mischief by killing or maiming cattle) and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. A probe by veterinarians from the Directorate of Animal Husbandry of the State government is under way.