Police were left horrified after discovering the remains of 300 dogs, who were allegedly killed in the span of three days.
Local animal welfare activists alerted Shayampet police to the shocking instance of mass animal cruelty, which is understood to have occurred between January 6 and 8.
Activists Farzana Begum and Adulapuram Goutham visited Shayampet and Arepalli villages in India’s Hanamkonda district to verify reports of the mass-killing.
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According to a first information report, hundreds of stray dogs were killed using poisonous injections which two people were allegedly paid to administer.
Local police said initial evidence indicates the killings occurred without any connection to authorities.
Nine people have been “named” as the investigation continues, the Deccan Chronicle reported. At least one of these individuals has been charged under the local animal cruelty legislation.
Police said some phone recordings and witness statements made to the activists before the case was brought to authorities had formed admissions of guilt to the killings.
Mr Goutham, who advocates on behalf of India’s stray animal foundation, said the mass killing of stray animals is not only illegal, but is also ineffective in controlling their population.
He said the only solution that is both scientific and humane is a strict implementation of local animal birth control rules.
According to Mr Goutham the “tragedy” could have been avoided if local authorities had implemented the rules, which include sterilising animals and putting anti-rabies vaccination programmes in place to prevent further incidents.
In response to several street mauling’s of young children, India’s supreme court ordered the removal of all stray dogs in New Delhi and its suburban cities, Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram and Faridabad on August 11.
It said authorities must start collecting dogs from these areas and relocating them to shelters with the condition that the animals would not be released into public spaces again.
The ruling was widely criticised for being impossible for local governments to carry out due to having limited infrastructure to house the dogs.
Advocates also raised concerns that the ruling would fuel more acts of cruelty toward dogs.
The case was heard once more, and a second ruling modified the earlier order, instead calling for all dogs within the area to be sterilised, dewormed and vaccinated before being released into the same place they were collected from.
The release rule does not apply to dogs with rabies.
Rough estimates indicate India has about 60 million stray dogs, with about 1 million of these living in New Delhi alone.
In correlation with this, India accounts for more than a third of global rabies deaths.
