Close to 1,500 free-ranging dogs and at least 10 monkeys have allegedly been killed across different parts of Telangana within a month, following election promises by local representatives to “get rid of” free-ranging animals.
An animal rights group alleged the killings took place after recent local body elections, with dogs allegedly being injected with poison in violation of animal protection laws and repeated court orders.
In several cases, dogs were allegedly killed by administering poisonous injections, which constitutes grave animal cruelty and a direct violation of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, and repeated Supreme Court directions, the activists said.
Some of the alleged mass killings took place in broad daylight. Videos and photographs circulating on social media appear to show people injecting dogs with poison. Activists say many of the animals killed included pregnant females and young puppies.
Mudawath Preethi, a cruelty prevention assistant with the Stray Animal Foundation of India, said at least 11 cases had been reported to the non-profit, involving the killing of around 1,430 dogs and two instances of illegal relocation of free-ranging animals.
“Police cases have been filed in all the reported incidents, with the first case registered on January 5, when 30 free-ranging dogs were allegedly killed by poisonous injections in Dharmapuri, Jagtial district,” she said.
According to Preethi, subsequent cases emerged from Shyampet and Arepally villages in Hanamkonda district; Faridpet, Wadi, Palwancha, Bhavanipet and Bandarameshwarpally in Kamareddy district; Yacharam in Rangareddy district; and Badhankurthi in Nirmal district. In Kamareddy, 10 monkeys were also allegedly poisoned.
Other incidents were reported from Pegadapally in Nirmal and Jagtial districts, and Thimmaipally village in Nagarkurnool district. Illegal relocation of free-ranging dogs was allegedly carried out in Warangal, from the NIT campus, and in Boppapur village in Siddipet district.
Nearly 300 dogs were killed in Pegadapally and Hanamkonda districts alone, with another 100 to 200 dogs reportedly killed in other villages. About 200 were killed in Pathipaka village in Hanamkonda district, Preethi alleged. The most recent case was registered with local police in Thimmaipally, Nagarkurnool district, on January 27.
Preethi said police seizures indicated that the dogs were injected with paralysis drug Succinylcholine (SUCOL) in all the reported cases.
“These persons were allegedly hired from Andhra Pradesh by the sarpanch of the respective villages for the task. Once the dogs were dead, the gram panchayat concerned cleared the bodies and buried them, in several instances,” she said.
She added that gram panchayat elections were held in November, and interactions with villagers suggested that candidates had promised to eliminate free-ranging dogs if elected. “Now these promises are being fulfilled,” she said, adding that some villagers also claimed the Supreme Court had issued directives to remove free-ranging dogs — a claim animal welfare groups say is incorrect and misleading.
First Information Reports have been filed against elected representatives in connection with the incidents.
Meet Ashar, legal advisor and director of cruelty response at PETA India, said killing dogs is not just unlawful and unethical, but also unscientific and does not help control their population. “The dogs removed by killing are quickly replaced by others from neighbouring areas, thereby rendering the exercise completely ineffective. Cruelty also only worsens the human-dog conflict by creating fearful dogs,” he said.
Animal Birth Control (ABC) has been a legal requirement since 2001, earlier under the Animal Birth Control (Dog) Rules, 2001 and now under the Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023, Ashar pointed out. “All civic bodies, urban or rural, have been entrusted to sterilise and vaccinate dogs for the last 25 years. Even the Supreme Court of India, through various judgments from 2015, has reiterated and mandated this requirement of all local bodies,” he said.
The non-profit fears that more such cases may have occurred or are ongoing but remain underreported. “More such incidents are likely to happen as local body elections — including Mandal Parishad and Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituencies — are scheduled in the coming months,” Preethi said.
In a statement, the organisation said the incidents reflect a systemic abuse of power by local authorities, a lack of awareness — or deliberate violation — of animal protection laws, and a complete failure to implement humane dog population management programmes.