Tamil Nadu Animal Welfare Board rescues around 18 dogs kept in poor condition by breeder in Sholinganallur

Tamil Nadu Animal Welfare Board raids dog breeding centre in Sholinganallur, rescues malnourished dogs, plans to file FIR.

A dog breeding centre in Sholinganallur was raided on March 30 by the Tamil Nadu Animal Welfare Board (TNAWB).

According to the TNAWB, the breeder was keeping pedigree dogs in appalling conditions. The dogs appeared weak, malnourished, and were infested with ticks.

Shruti Vinod Raj, an honorary member of the TNAWB, said that the information was received through a person associated with iAdopt, an adoption platform led by K. Krithika.

The tip-off indicated that the dogs had not been fed, and it was reported that a couple of them had died. However, the search operation took nearly eight hours as the dogs were not found at the initially indicated location. The search team attempted to contact the breeder, Magesh, by phone, but he did not respond.

Ms. Raj said that the police then got involved and spoke with the breeder, who eventually revealed the correct location. There, nearly 18 dogs, including breeds such as Dachshund, Beagle, Pitbull, Rottweiler, and Dove, were found in poor conditions. The dogs were rescued, fed, and transferred to three non-governmental organisations: Sanchu Animal Hospital, Paws and Claws, and Besant Memorial Animal Dispensary.

“The breeder claimed to have certification from the Kennel Club of India. We plan to contact them to verify whether he indeed holds certification and request that it be cancelled, potentially barring him from breeding in the future,” said Ms. Raj.

The TNAWB also plans to file an FIR with the police.