Owners tie up their animals when they see Corporation vehicles, says civic body official

CHENNAI: On Monday, a viral video of a woman being dragged along a road by a buffalo in Tiruvottiyur in Chennai shocked people. This is the latest in a series of such incidents. Early this year, a 65-year-old man was gored to death by stray cattle in Nanganallur, and a senior citizen was hit by a cow in Triplicane last year. Following these cases, the Greater Chennai Corporation increased penalties against cattle owners.

Civic body officials stated that if the same animals were caught straying a second time, their owners would be levied a Rs 10,000 fine. For a third 'offence', the cattle would be handed over to NGOs.

“Though we have intensified the cattle-catching drive in the city, we’re tired of the hide-and-seek behaviour of the owners who tie up their cattle when they see a Corporation vehicle. We still manage to catch the cattle roaming on the streets. Over 1,100 stray cattle were impounded in shelters maintained by the GCC in the present fiscal year,” said Dr J Kamal Hussain, Veterinary Officer, GCC.

In light of the rising incidents involving stray cattle in the capital city, a resolution was passed during a monthly council meet of the civic body.

The resolution noted that for an animal to rest and feed, 36 square feet of space along with a compound wall is required. If cattle owners do not have that facility, they must not be issued licenses to own animals and their cattle should be impounded at the corporation's shelters while unclaimed cattle roaming on the roads should be handed over to the NGOs.

“We’ve instructed the zonal level officials to take a survey and prepare a new list of owners and their cattle, apart from the existing list. They will be asked to apply for a license. If they don’t have sufficient space for the animal, the license will not be issued and the cattle will be impounded in the GCC shelter,” said Dr Hussain.