Karnataka Village’s Grisly Killings: Mass Graves for Stray Dogs

At least 40 bodies of dogs have been recovered.

Screen grab one one of the video shot by villagers. 

(Photo: The Quint)

In a horrendous case of animal abuse, a village in Karnataka allegedly carried out a mass killing of as many as 150 stray dogs.

Animals right activists in the state have discovered mass dog graves in Davangere district, where the villagers dumped the stray dogs after killing them. According to an FIR registered on Monday, 27 November, the mass killing was organised by the village panchayat – with Rs 150 being offered for every dog that was killed.

Police have now recovered over 40 bodies of the slaughtered animals. The bodies have been sent for postmortem to verify the allegation that the dogs were injected with poison.

Cruelty Against Dogs, For What?

The killings took place on 20 November in Belaguthi village in Hannalli Taluk, located more than 200 km from Bengaluru.

The villagers had complained about the stray dogs, following which the dog catching campaign was organised by the gram panchayat. The campaign saw a big turnout.

It was more than a week after the killings that the incident came to light.

Sadistic Videos Circulated

Several videos of the cruel killings of dogs and puppies were circulated on social media.

Harish KB, an animal rights activist with the Compassion Unlimited Plus Action, came across one such video. He then decided to visit the village, where he found the tens of bodies.

Dogs were buried in an open land four to five km outside the village. When we visited the village, we could see remains of some dogs in the open as well.

Harish KB

One of the photos given to the police by the animal rights activist.(Photo: The Quint)

The activist filed the FIR on Monday with the local police.

An officer in-charge of Nymathi police station confirmed to The Quint that an FIR was registered on the basis of the complaint.

“The investigation is underway, and we are currently awaiting the postmortem reports. The complainant alleged that around 150 dogs were killed, but so far we have been able to get 40 bodies for the postmortem. We are collecting more information about the other locations where the dogs were buried,” said Hanumanthappa, the sub-inspector in-charge of investigation.

The dogs were allegedly killed by injecting poison in them. (Photo courtesy: The Quint)

The officer added that they are yet to ascertain the cause of death.

The allegation is that the gram panchayat organised the collection of the dogs across the village, and subsequently killed them by injecting poison. Only when the postmortem report is available can we pinpoint details of the killing. At this point, we can confirm there have been dog killings, and action will be taken based on the findings of the investigation.

Hanumanthappa

Action Against Mass Killing

The police said apart from Section 11 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, which gives Rs 10 to Rs 100 as fines for hurting animals, serious sectionS under the Indian Penal Code have been registered as well.

“Cases have been registered under Sections 428 and 429, which deals with mischief by killing or maiming animals. Under these sections, if the crime in proven, the punishment could be two years of imprisonment to life imprisonment,” the police added.

Rekaha, president of village panchayat, who has been named in the FIR said that they were not aware of the rules against killings stray dogs.

“People had come to the panchayat and raised complaint against the stray dog menace. There were meetings held on the issue, and during one such meeting, there was a ruckus created. So, we were forced to undertake such a measure,” she said.