Udupi: Following sustained efforts by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PeTA), India, to enforce multiple closure orders issued by the Saligrama town panchayat, the animal husbandry department, deputy commissioner, Saligrama town panchayat, with assistance from PETA India, conducted its 17th raid at the premises of B Sudhindra Aithal’s Animal Rescue Centre in Saligrama, Udupi, on Tuesday. This latest operation brings the total number of animals rescued from the facility to more than 350 across several raids.During the operation, officials discovered the rotting carcass of a calf that allegedly died from neglect. The body had been kept hidden under a tin sheet, discarded near a pile of animal bones on the premises, a makeshift graveyard. The same operation also led to the rescue of 17 surviving but sick and diseased animals, including four adult dogs, six puppies, six kittens, and a guinea pig.The rescued animals were found confined in filthy, overcrowded, and inhumane conditions without adequate food, water, or veterinary care. They were found suffering heavy tick infestations, untreated wounds, and showing signs of severely contagious and life-threatening diseases like canine distemper (CD) and parvovirus (parvo), PeTA stated.PeTA India has also submitted a fresh complaint to the Kota police station seeking the registration of an FIR against Aithal under the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Act, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act.Despite repeated closure orders issued by multiple authorities and the registration of an FIR against him last year, Aithal has continued to illegally keep animals in overcrowded, unsanitary, and unsafe conditions, resulting in immense suffering and death, and a threat to public health, they alleged.
