Society versus pet feeders: Mumbai's never-ending story

Clashes between housing societies and resident animal lovers and feeders is an ageold problem Recent cases that have ended up at ward offices or at police stations have underlined the issue Due to the constant fear of fights or abuse many animal feeders have changed feeding times while others have completely stoppedThe thin line between human rights and animal rights makes the situation in residential colonies extremely volatile as legal remedies are not sought by either partyManeka Gandhi animal activist politicianRecently a controversy erupted at the Kutchi Sarvodaya Jain Nagar Deonar when one of the accused opposed a society circular telling residents not to feed strays on the premises This led residents to stop feeding 30odd strays living inside the society and four strays allegedly died of hungerSanket Bhat who had to leave his rented accommodation in the society owing to altercations with society members said ldquoItrsquos difficult to make someone understand the basic needs of animals They canrsquot talk so we need to keep tabs on them We donrsquot expect applause but at least people can show some mercy The least society members can do is stop making our lives tough Is it too much to ask forrdquolsquoFaced harassment abusersquoKantilal Jain a senior citizen who feeds dogs said ldquoI have been feeding dogs in Virar for 17 years and currently feed 80 to 100 dogs daily But the experience with housing societies remains the same Some try to confront us while some abuserdquo Speaking about the common problems he said ldquoI know some feeders who were attacked some residents who used to feed strays were even asked to vacate the flatrdquoFeeding strays has often led to confrontations between feeders and housing societiesMira Road resident Anjum Khan has now changed the time of feeding due to complaints ldquoMany times when we approach dogs they get excited and bark which has created a lot of problems for us with residents So I have changed my time I leave my house at 1230 am and go around feeding 60 to 70 dogs till 3 am I also clean after myselfrdquo He however added ldquoFeeders must understand that we do it for our own conscience so we should not take a moral high ground and try to bully othersrdquoAmanpreet Walia a Naigaon resident said she was attacked several times ldquoI have been feeding dogs for many years and sometimes I also take them home if they are in need of medical care This has led to me not getting flats in societies I feed 350 animals a day but in hiding I have been abused and once they even tried to torch my scooty So I leave my home at midnight to avoid any confrontationrdquoNMMC has set up pet corners in 18 gardens where pets can poop and their owners can collect the same and drop it in the binFor Fort resident Sneha Visaria the problem is even worse as she has been facing harassment by drug peddlers She told midday ldquoI am regularly facing harassment from drug peddlers and society people for feeding cats at night As the societies do not allow feeding pets inside the premises I go outside to feed I also keep water bowls for cats and dogs outside but some residents broke the bowls I have so far filed eightnine cases of animal crueltyrdquoThe rulesVijay Rangare president of People for Animals Mumbai Unit 2 said ldquoMost of the housing societies donrsquot know the rules and impose fines or issue notices to feeders As far as laws are concerned no one can bar anybody from feeding any animal within or outside the premises of any colonyrdquoMitesh Jain honorary animal welfare officer of Animal Welfare Board of India said ldquoThere are plenty of laws and judgments in favour of animal lovers Most of the time we face unnecessary abuses but residents donrsquot know the law Same goes with cops too most of them tell us to lsquosettlersquo the matter but restricting feeding or penalising residents for feeding is just not acceptablerdquo Cop speaksMost of the cases of animal cruelty do not see the light of day as there is lack of information about these cases even among cops ACP Sudhir Kudalkar of Anti Corruption Bureau Worli division said ldquoI solved around 187 such cases legally with my teams I have more than 20 WhatsApp groups with more than 6000 feeders where they post their issues I have also formed 25 advocate teams which are dealing with animal cruelty Itrsquos my duty to save both the people and the animalsrdquoHe added ldquoWe have laws on animal cruelty but it has not changed over the years which means accused get released on bail immediately for a fine of R50 There is a need for amendment of the laws and it should be a nonbailable offencerdquoOfficials speakAnimal rights activist Maneka Gandhi said ldquoIt is illegal to stop anybody from feeding It is compulsory to make feeding spots in every society building and area There is a high court judgment on this There are also laws of harassment of women who more often than not bear the brunt for being a feeder and the culprits should be booked under the various sectionsrdquoDr KA Pathan general manager of Veterinary Health Department of BMC said ldquoAnimal Welfare Board of India has given detailed guidelines about how residents should treat strays or pets There are laws too We as corporations are consistently working towards controlling the population of strays which will reduce the gravity of issuesrdquoHousing society speaksldquoPets also have equal rights to live but pet lovers should respect the laws of the society and take the pet to the designated place for loo If the pet lover ensures the pet does not harm small children or senior citizens the cooperative should live and let liverdquo said advocate Vinod Sampat president of a cooperative society residents and welfare associationPet Corner in Vashi gardensAs pet poop is one of the most common causes of confrontation between pet owners and residents the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation unveiled a lsquopet cornerrsquo in Vashi sector 29 A 10times12 feet area filled with sand has been designated for pets and the civic body has also kept scoops and bags to collect the poop and throw it in the dust bin ldquoWe expect residents to keep the city clean so we should give them such facilities too Animal poop is a big issue in many societies so we have decided to create such corners in 18 gardens It will be a winwin situation for residents and animal lovers toordquo said NMMC chief Abhijit Bangar