Animal hospital becomes dumping ground

Animals abandoned by their owners have become a liability for the veterinary hospital at Parel where people dump their animals when they are ill and don’t come back for them. This has resulted in piling up of a large number of animals in the ward known as maintenance of ownerless animals (MOA) ward. The figure of such animals has gone up to 213. The hospital, which runs only on charity, finds it difficult to bear the cost of maintenance of these animals. Although the hospital does receive some charity in kind such as feed, fodder or medicines, the administration is still struggling to bear the cost of treatment of these abandoned animals. This charity-run hospital has to spend around '20 lakh to take care of these abandoned animals. The hospital cannot euthanise these animals as almost all of them are in a position to live. “Many times people approach the hospital only in the late evenings and admit their pets by giving false addresses and telephone numbers. They pay some money in advance and never come again,” said Lt Col Dr J.C. Khanna, chief administrator of the hospital. According to figures obtained from the hospital, currently there are 17 horses, 13 cows, six buffaloes, 10 calves, 10 goats, five sheep, seven donkeys, 65 dogs and 70 cats. “Most of the animals are left outside the hospital at night. When our staff finds them, they bring them inside and we conduct a medical examination. Piramal Chamber has now also become an abandoning spot for people,” said Dr Khanna. Explaining the reasons behind discarding animals this way, Dr Khanna said, “Developing bad vices or permanent illness, unawareness of the breed of animals and escalating cost of maintenance are basic factors.”