Activists seek support to run animal shelters during lockdown

One such facility is the Almighty Animal Sanctuary in Tiruvallur, run by animal activist Sai Vignesh. With over 80 animals, including 40 rescued cows and bulls from slaughterhouses and over 30 stray dogs that are disabled, from Thiruvallur and Chennai districts, the sanctuary is sustaining out of the efforts of Vignesh and the support of friends and family. 

“I set up the sanctuary in 2019 to home rescued animals with the help of benefactors and online donors. Donors were unable to support us because of the financial strain during the shutdown and so I am supporting the farm through my part-time job as a web developer, with the assistance of my father and friends,” said Vignesh, noting that it takes about two lakhs per month to maintain the sanctuary. 

According to Vignesh, the number of abandoned animals increased at least two-fold during the first lockdown in 2020, which led to an influx of animals into his sanctuary. Ahead of the two-week lockdown across the State, Vignesh predicts another increase in abandoned animals in the State. “Tamil Nadu has always been poor when it comes to animal care and protection and this was highlighted over the course of the lockdown. There are several animal activists in the State who are trying to protect animals through the pandemic, but we need the support from the public to be able to do so. We know that people are financially struggling and so we don’t want to ask for too much but their support would go a long way,” said Vignesh. Dr Chinny Krishna, co-founder of the Blue Cross of India, notes that the lockdown has led to not only a decrease in visitors but also donations, which has led to many independently-run sanctuaries facing a financial crisis. 

“Corporates have done a wonderful job in the lockdown in other areas, but animals are a second priority. For independent sanctuaries, finances have been very difficult over the course of the lockdown but we predict that the situation may not be as intense over the next two weeks as it was one year ago,” he said.