A chilling pattern of mass animal cruelty has surfaced in Telangana, where hundreds of stray dogs have allegedly been killed across multiple villages in what
police describe as a coordinated and deliberate campaign, raising serious questions about governance, accountability and the price of political promises. In the latest incident, around 200 stray dogs were allegedly killed in Kamareddy district, taking the toll to nearly 500 canine deaths in just one week. Police said cases have been registered against six persons, including five village sarpanches, for their alleged role in the killings. Investigators believe the mass poisoning was not random but planned, linked directly to assurances made during recent gram panchayat elections. Also Read |'Should We Shut Our Eyes? Who Is Responsible When Children Die?' Supreme Court Questions States on Stray Dogs “Ahead of the gram panchayat elections held in December last year, some candidates promised villagers they would tackle the stray dog and monkey menace. They are now allegedly ‘fulfilling’ those promises by killing stray dogs,” PTI reported quoting sources. According to police, the carcasses were buried on the outskirts of villages in an attempt to conceal the crime. Veterinary teams later exhumed the bodies and conducted post-mortem examinations. Viscera samples have been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory to determine the exact cause of death and the type of poison used, a senior police official told PTI. Notices have since been issued to the accused.
Stray Dog Given Lethal Injection
Animal welfare activist Adulapuram Goutham, who lodged a complaint at Machareddy police station, said he received information that nearly 200 dogs were killed over two to three days in five villages of Palvancha mandal. He alleged in the FIR that the killings were carried out at the behest of local sarpanches, who reportedly hired a person to administer poisonous injections.
Goutham said he personally visited Bhavanipet village, where he found dog carcasses dumped in the open. He later learnt that similar acts of cruelty had taken place in Palvancha, Faridpet, Wadi and Bandarameshwarapally villages.
This follows an earlier case in Hanamkonda district, where around 300 stray dogs were allegedly poisoned to death over three days beginning January 6 in Shayampet and Arepalli villages. Police there booked nine persons, including sarpanches, gram panchayat secretaries and two hired individuals.
