Dog shooting incident in Nagaland: Owner says shooter traced

Our Correspondent
Kohima, Oct. 13 (EMN): In a shocking incident, a miscreant shot dead a 5-year-old Labrador named Junior in Kohima on Tuesday, drove past the scene only to return later to drag the carcass into his car.

The CCTV footage of the incident, which took place along the National Highway-29, above Sakhrie Children’s Park in Kohima, had gone viral on social media even as pet lovers came out to condemn the act and demand justice for Junior.

A police source has informed this newspaper that an enquiry has been initiated into the incident.

Meanwhile, the owner of Junior had taken to Instagram to relate the whole incident with popular online animal welfare community Noah’s Ark and sought its support.

The owner also informed on Wednesday that they had traced the person behind the incident.

“We have decided to protect the identity of the miscreant. Not because we know him but because we do not believe in public shaming. He will be dealt with but we do not encourage people to track down his personal details and virtually and metaphorically lynch him online like how our community made that mistake once already,” the owner wrote on the page.

Describing the incident as “horrific” and “traumatising”, the owner stated that it should be a clear message to all the dog hunters out there that we will not allow any of such acts to slip by.

Nagaland had gained notoriety for passing “shoot-at-sight” order for dogs by some local authorities in the past, which had drawn sharp criticism from animal activists and pet lovers from various quarters.

It may be mentioned that killing of an animal/pet is illegal and an offence under Section 11 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act of 1960.