Animal lovers protest against starvation of community dogs at Agri-Horticulture Society
Times of India | 15 September 2025
Kolkata: Animal lovers and caregivers from different parts of the city assembled at the main gate of the Agri-Horticulture Society of India (AHSI), Alipore, on Sunday afternoon and staged a protest against the starvation of about 12 community dogs trapped behind barbed wire fencing on its campus.
Armed with placards and banners on animal cruelty, around 50 animal lovers marched down the road to the over two-century-old Society and raised their voices for the "voiceless animals". They demanded that the Society demarcate specific feeding zones for strays and birds on the campus.
"We will continue with our protest till the AHSI functionaries allow us to feed the animals that have been starving for the last five days.
It is raining today, and we are very worried over the stitches of the dogs that underwent sterilisation. Though we lodged a complaint with the Alipore police station, cops are yet to take any action against the Society inflicting cruelty on animals," said Meenakshi Pandeya, an animal caregiver who fed community dogs and birds on the AHSI campus for over a decade.
Another animal caregiver, Nandita Thirani, trustee of Shri Ramlal Thirani Charitable Trust, rued that the sterilised dogs on the AHSI campus are in need of medicines, food, and water; otherwise, their condition will deteriorate.
"We have been spending sleepless nights thinking about the innocent animals ever since the functionaries of the Society imposed a ban on the members and visitors feeding animals and birds on the campus.
Even the workers and gardeners have been warned of unemployment if they are found feeding them in violation of the directive from the AHSI functionaries. We request the administration to step in and save the innocent animals from the jaws of death," said Thirani.
The animal caregivers said they would stage bigger protests if the issue was not resolved. Environmentalists and social workers have also raised their voices against the "inhumane attitude" of the AHSI functionaries towards animals.
Environmentalist Banani Kakkar said, "William Carey, who established the AHSI way back in 1820, always spread the message of love and care for all living beings. Given this kind of animal cruelty allowed inside the garden, the Society should be dissolved and the botanical wealth handed to the forest department."
Social activist Pradeep Kakkar said, "Cruelty to dogs by forcing them to starve and stay without water will not be tolerated. It is a scar on the city's identity, and we should all fight against it together."
Animal caregiver Prasenjit Dutta said, "Dogs are territorial animals that cannot be shifted anywhere else; otherwise, there will be canine conflicts. Our pleas to be allowed to feed dogs and birds are falling on the deaf ears of the AHSI functionaries."