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Animal activists heed starving dogs’ SOS
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Volunteers feeding stray dogs and birds in a Colombo park. Pix by Indika Handuwala
Several animal rights organisations have joined in solidarity to feed stray dogs that are going hungry during the lockdown period.
Around 200 activists across the country have teamed up to feed the starving animals.
In normal times, dogs in city areas feed on food refuse from offices, eateries and households but with all offices closed and restaurants shut down, the dogs in the city and its suburbs have run out of food.
Among the organisations that have joined hands are Adopt a Dog Sri Lanka, (ADSL) the Dharma Voice for the Animals and Justice for Animals Sri Lanka. They are supported by a number of independent dog lovers and groups.
Shoba Wijekoon of ADSL said a volunteer chain has been formed to coordinate feeding operations across areas of high stray dog populations.
A team led by Ms Wijekoon covers the stretch along the Colombo road from Kandy to Peradeniya and Sigiriya. The team cooks food and takes it to sites where there are concentrations of dogs.
Curfew passes have been obtained from the police to move around during the lockdown period.
The dogs are fed once a day, and although at the beginning it was difficult to get rations for cooking, several donors have come forward and offered dry rations.
Ms Wijekoon said the police have been very understanding in granting permission to move around during curfew.
Another group covers Battaramulla, Thalawatugoda and Rajagiriya.
Rescue Animal Sri Lanka covers the stretch along the Pettah, Fort and Maradana areas. One of its members, Anusha David, said she had encountered problems in obtaining curfew passes from police.
“They were nasty and a higher officer even suggested the dogs should be shot dead,” she said.
“Finding rice for cooking has been difficult but we make good with bakery bread, buns and biscuits,” Ms David said.
She noted that the Meetotamulla garbage dump has become a haven for stray dogs, counting more than 250 animals gathered there to forage for scraps.
For dogs in villages, life goes on uninterrupted as the villagers continue to feed them.
A further group of volunteers has begun sterilising stray dogs, which are multiplying rapidly.
Animal activist Dr. Chamith Nanayakkara and his team began a 10-day free sterilisation in the Anuradhapura area last Wednesday. The team has been neutering dogs at the Tantrimale Rajamaha Vihare. It then moved to Mihintale and will finish up in Anuradhapura town.
Stray dogs are brought in, sterilised, and allowed to go on their way. Dog-owning households are also being encouraged to take their dogs along for sterilisation.
Dr. Nanayakkara, who is also the Director of the Association of Veterinarians for Humane Management of Animal Population, pointed out that no sterilisation work on dogs by any agency had occurred during the initial six weeks of lockdown.
He said the animals multiply fast and if their numbers were not curbed in time, the problem of strays would be difficult to manage.
There are around 3 million dogs in the country, of which 30 per cent are “community dogs” or strays, according to Health Ministry statistics.
