A new resident of HSR Layout turned her house in Sector 3 into a sheltering space for several cats and dogs. The result was the constant barking, meowwing during late nights and the health hazard due to the mess created by these pets, allege the neighbours. However, the pet owner defends herself by saying that the noise pollution will come down once the animals settle down in their new house. She also claims to have taken all precautions to ensure that there is no hygiene or nuisance issue in the area.
BBMP ACTS
BBMP Health Inspector Vinodh GM immediately acted on the complaint by the residents of Sector 3. Last week, he visited the house and asked the pet owner to have the animals removed from the residential house. Even if you are keeping many pets for noble reasons, if they disturb the neighbours, then they will have to go was the BBMP’s reasoning.
Alleges disgruntled resident Gowtham Reddy: “The new neighbor at the back of my house started breeding and rearing cats… She has at least 30 cats on her terrace. She has made an open cage shelter for cats to stay permanently. We as immediate neighbours (seven families) are disturbed due to the constant ‘meow’ sound and are concerned about health safety issues.”
Another resident Balu Padur reacted to this story: “How can one individual rear so many cats? This seems to be a case of breeding under the cover of rearing. Like dogs breeding business in HSR under the cover of rearing. BBMP only can effectively help in such matters.”
The residents did not stop with their complaints. “It is not just the noise,” says Venkat Krishna Peddibhoti. “They mess up the whole place, my basement is messed up with cat poop.”
The sheltering is happening at house number 183, 21st Cross Road, 18th Main Road in Sector 3 behind HSR Club. The house owner was warned and the pets are to be out soon, according to the BBMP.
ANIMAL LOVER RESPONDS TO THE ALLEGATIONS
In response to the story, pet owner Sudha Venkatesh says, “I am an animal activist and also a part of various animal organizations. My love for animals is showcased in a way of petting and taking care of them. I have three dogs (two small breeds and one with three legs) and 10+ cats. All of them were either rescued or brought to us by people.”
She claims that she is not breeding animals, just sheltering them. “We ourselves are opposers of breeding activities and moreover, all our cats and dogs are sprayed and neutered. I don’t see in what way we can breed them. As per the Health Inspector, we were told that keeping too many pets is not allowed in the residential area as it can cause trouble to the residents. Regarding that, I am taking care of these pets for the last eight years and have lived in residential areas itself. I would not dare to go against the rules if there were any. I would like to attach few links which talk about the rules for keeping pets.”
Megha has given the following links: Laws in Keeping Pets in Society, Rules Related to Pets and Street Dogs, Rules and Laws About Owning Pets in India. “All of my cats and dogs are formally trained and do not make any kind of nuisance as mentioned,” she said. “We moved in on 14th December night. It’s been 3 days since our arrival, we also requested the Health inspector saying that our pets are in stress due to the new environment and would take 2 to 3 days to settle down and he kindly agreed to that.
“Our cats are indoor cats; we have never left them out for safety reasons. In a big house like we are living in, it needs to be properly covered for them to enjoy the space as well as stay safe. We are also covering up the required space with sheets for keeping our pets warm as well as considering the neighbors’ requirements. Attaching a picture of the cats enjoying the terrace view should not be considered as caged.
“They are litter-trained and poop in the places they are supposed to and we clean it 4 to 5 times a day to avoid the smell to spread around as we stay in the same house. There is no possibility of my cats going to someone else’s basement to do their business. The stake holders were informed about all the necessary things before we moved in. I have no such ideas of vacating my pets as I do not support any of the complaints issued.”
