Little Chameli and her 5 newborn pups  are alive today, only because a military base enabled her rescue. If they had allowed them the year before, she would've been neutered and vaccinated, and the campus, residents  and dogs safer.

Whether it's a lack of knowledge of the law, or rigid focus on security, many institutions do not allow the local corporation like BBMP (whose charter is ABC/ARV) to enter for vaccination and neuter and nor allow feeders and rescuers. And with no food the dogs could get aggressive so this is actually counterproductive to common goals.  Its not just about the dogs , it's about the human community and their following the law as a responsible law abiding institutional citizen. So it is both in the interest of the community as well as adhering to the law that this focus is required but each institution serves as a law unto itself and becomes an obstacle  in this process thereby hurting themselves, residents and animals  in the long run. Often security or a low ranking admin person shoos off the person at the gates without giving a number to escalate to, and creates untold problems. Senior leaders and facility heads must intervene. BBMP must write to all these organisations explaining the law and requesting controlled access to dogs for ABC/ARV, feeding and rescue , which can be easily done without impeding security concerns.

We appreciate that Large installations, which include public sector giants like HAL, ISRO, educational institutions like IISC, IIM & other universities,  and military establishments like airforce &  army across multiple grounds and battalions have a strong & justifiable concern about security, visitor rules and keeping campus rule bound and safe. However the law is the law, and animal compassion & empathy is needed. It is life or death for the poor animal. While the establishment concerns are understandable and based on security etc, the problem comes up when there is either an animal rescue, an urgent injury, a grievous accident which needs a rescue to intervene and help the suffering animal , allowable under the constitution of India. The second issue is because of the large, sprawling space, reaching these poor  animals for ABC, ARV or rescue , becomes difficult if not impossible.  Apart from permission to enter, given the big campus, support from personnel or residents inside is also needed.

This is a Catch 22 -as the more they multiply and remain unvaccinated, the greater the danger to humans, themselves and other animals, Therefore it is required that with consistent effort and partnership with NGOs and BBMP, quick turnaround on this space can make it not only is safe for the occupants and residents of the campus but also reduce conflict avoid inadvertent cruelty to suffering animals because of the establishment structure  and understandable security rules.

In most cases, due to a one-on-one or a request from the concerned administrator rescuers are able to go in and take help from the establishment to safeguard  the animal, but this is not sustainable.

15 pups were found at the Karnataka Public Service Commission off Palace Road a few days ago. If the KPSC campus had given permission for a BBMP to enter and catch the three mother dogs and the intact male last year as requested, this would not have happened. So animal welfare folks now have to struggle to look after & the pups, and fifteen is a lot to care for. The poor helpless pups have risk of illness, accidents and injury; and Indie adoption is tough , while it's possible that some one may even try illegal relocation. There is also possible aggression by mother dog impacting safety and all this could have been prevented if access was given last year ! Its the obduracy of the department that has caused this.

All is not lost - a while ago Chameli, a female dog in this picture, was found dazed, suffering, blood dripping from her body, at the ASC campus. Her stomach was slashed and she was bleeding to death - and what is worse,  she was clearly lactating. She would not leave her pups behind. Clearly, it was not only important to save this suffering dog but also locate the soon-to-be motherless pups . Thanks to the kindness of the Army personnel esp Ashok Negi at the ASC entrance, not only were rescuers able to pick up the disoriented mother dog but also locate the newborn pups deep inside the campus and take them along with the mother to a shelter,  where she was treated. Thanks to ASC’s support, involvement and kindness, seven lives were saved the day. Chameli and her six pups were informed to the new AHVS Animal Care Helpline, rescued by Vikas Bafna and  treated at CUPA.

However the constant manual intervention, asking of favours, using contacts, requesting for help in and out of the way, is not sustainable, creates inordinate delay and  puts a lot of pressure on the system. The institutions may mean well but they don’t know the animal laws and they have never been collectively asked, so they respond one query at a time. In addition, these large campuses also inadvertently result in higher breeding and this can be difficult for the occupants as animals have to be vaccinated and neutered for their and human safety. As the administrators here may not know animal rules & access, they tend to stay in their own rules & red tape- they must be educated and sensitized that’s this is  the law.

Hence we request that BBMP (as custodians of community dogs in Bengaluru), and KAWB (as AWBI state guardians preventing animal cruelty), to formally interface with each of the authorities with this specific request- in the interest of both compassion as well as safety. As this comes broadly under the Indian constitution, we can engage weekly and have specific drives to ensure that both large scale Neuter and Vaccination as well as rescue on demand is made possible. In fact they should be encouraged to catch as many as they can and bring them to ABC centers.

We once again state on record that we have great respect for these establishments, especially the military  who work for the safety & security  of a nation. We also respect their need to maintain a higher security and preserve their sprawling grounds in a pristine, secure manner. However, this in their own interests first, as well as that of the animals, We hope that this request and via media solution will actually help to make their campuses safer and more compassionate.

Let’s do this immediately.