An animal lover from Madurai moved the Madras High Court Bench at Madurai on Friday seeking a direction to the Directorate of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Service to extend the Animal Medical Mobile Ambulance services to stray animals.
A Division Bench of Justices Pushpa Sathyanarayana and P. Velmurugan sought a response from the State on the public interest litigation petition filed by advocate S. Sivasubramanian of Madurai. The petitioner said he was regularly providing food and shelter to stray animals. In May 2021, he saw a puppy near his house in a bad condition. He called the veterinary doctors for help. But, unfortunately the puppy died.
On enquiring with veterinary doctors, he learnt about Animal Medical Mobile Ambulances and its toll-free number 1962. He said there was not much awareness of the toll-free number. But later he dialled the number a few times, but did not find help, he said.
Further, he said, he learnt that the ambulance services were not available for stray animals, got injured in accidents and sometimes pelted with stones by people. They required immediate medical attention and care.
Disregarding stray animals from medical attention solely on the ground that they did not have owners was arbitrary. The Animal Medical Mobile Ambulance services should cover stray animals too, he said. The petitioner said he had sent a representation to authorities to create awareness of the ambulance services in urban and rural areas, increase the number of ambulances, extend the services to stray animals and develop a plan and infrastructure to provide shelter, food, water and other basic facilities to stray animals. The hearing in the case was adjourned by four weeks.
