Mass death of animals in Katabon during lockdown
Adistressing report in this daily has brought to light the tragic consequences of the lockdown on the animals trapped in the pet shops in the city's Katabon area. Behind closed shutters, several hundred birds, dogs, cats, rabbits, rats, fish and guinea pigs were starved of proper lighting and air, which eventually lead to many of them dying from suffocation. Those that are still alive are also falling increasingly sick, as the build-up of heat and gas inside the stores are making matters worse. The deaths of all these animals, beyond being a cruel end to creatures that have spent their lives in cages, have also been a disastrous loss to shop owners whose livelihoods depend on this trade.
What could have been done to avoid this situation? According to the chairperson of animal rights group Obhoyaronno, during last year's lockdown, the Department of Livestock had introduced a system to keep the doors of these shops open. However, the measures taken this time were abysmally inadequate. According to the general secretary of Kataban Pet Shop Association, although some of the shops were allowed to remain open for two hours, this was dependent on the whims of the local police, and it was not enough time to provide the animals with adequate air, light and food. In light of their requests, from July 13, the government has now allowed the shops to be open for four hours a day for this purpose.
While this change might give the shop owners some more time to tend to the animals, we can no longer avoid the question—why does the Katabon pet hub exist at all, where animals are kept in such conditions that they can slowly suffocate and die? While shop owners have blamed the lockdown for what happened, animal rights activists have argued that the owners are just as culpable for keeping the animals in such hazardous conditions. Over the last few years, animal rights groups like Obhoyaronno have continuously pointed out that the breeding and selling of animals in cages in this way is now made illegal by the Animal Welfare Act 2019. In the past, we have also seen illegal wildlife being recovered from the Katabon area.
Under these circumstances, in the long run, it is imperative that the authorities take steps to shut down Katabon, once and for all, and ensure that animals are treated humanely and in accordance with the Animal Welfare Act 2019. Customers who access these shops are equally culpable, and they must be made to understand how their purchases perpetuate such cruel practices. In the meantime, we request the authorities to accept the assistance of volunteer organisations in caring for these animals, and do the needful in ensuring that the remaining animals in Katabon do not meet the same cruel fate.
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