Says they were culled with approval from the owners
Dimapur, May 21 (EMN): The Nokzang Students’ Union (NSU) has expressed dismay over reports claiming that it had shot dead several dogs for not vaccinating, saying that the fabricated story have tarnished its “good reputation”.
The union clarified through a press release on Friday that it had approached the Veterinary department on May 1 to vaccinate dogs in Nokzang village after some canines showed symptoms similar to those infected by rabies.
It said 107 out of the total 114 dogs in the village were vaccinated but couldn’t immunise seven of them as they turned aggressive and started attacking the villagers as well as cattle, following which “they were culled with approval from the owners in order to avoid future crisis”.
The union stated that it didn’t barge into any private properties to kill the dogs but tried their best to vaccinate all. It also refuted the reports alleging that it had shot “eight pet dogs belonging to eight families and charged them a fine of INR 500 for disobeying (its directive) and also sold the dog meat”, saying that “the union neither sold nor ate those dogs (sic)”. It added that unlike in urban areas, dogs in the village freely roam around and put people at risk.
It stated that it understands the feelings of pet lovers and animal rights activists; and that they didn’t intent to hurt their sentiments or violate the Animals Act. “The union had culled having a grave concern for its people especially during this time of global pandemic as we are not feasible to any medical help if in case any of the villagers are attacked,” it added.
The union condemned the fabricated allegation and sought pulling down of the update on Instagram as well as tender an apology.
The union also issued a declaration made by the owners of seven culled dogs, stating that they didn’t “write anything with regard to the killing of infected dogs” and that “the dog killed were not eaten by anyone nor sold”.
It may be mentioned that a source had told this newspaper on Thursday that the union had killed eight pet dogs (as against seven claimed by NSU) for not vaccinating. Another source from Nokzang village claimed that the dogs were shot dead as they were ‘infected’ and had started attacking cattle.
