Pune: City court asks police to hand over 12 rescued dogs to SPCA

The original custodian of these canines, from whom the dogs were rescued, had sought back the custody of the dogs by moving court.

A court in Pune has ordered that 12 dogs, which were rescued by police from a breeding centre in June following complaints of alleged cruelty, be handed over to the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) under the Animal Husbandry department. The original custodian of these canines, from whom the dogs were rescued, had sought back the custody of the dogs by moving court.

A complaint about animal cruelty at a breeding and sale centre of dogs in Lonikand area was made to the police in the last week of May by Pune district representatives of the People For Animals, an organisation founded by former Union minister Maneka Gandhi.

Subsequently, officials from Lonikand police station visited the centre along with representatives of People for Animals. Police officials then facilitated a veterinary medical examination of these dogs, which revealed that most of them had wounds and skin infections. After preliminary confirmation of the complaint, the dogs were rescued by the police and removed from the custody of the original owner.

Advocate Vijaysingh Thombare, who represented People for Animals in court, said, “After police rescued the dogs, they were kept in the custody of some volunteers associated with the organisation. Meanwhile, the original owner of the dogs moved court, seeking back the custody of the dogs. The application was argued before the court. In its ruling given on Tuesday, the Pune court rejected the application of the owner.”

Thombare added, “The court has ruled that the custody of dogs be given to the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which functions under the purview of the Animal Husbandry department. The court has also ordered the original owner to pay a stipulated amount to the SPCA for the care of each of these animals for a period of one year.”

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