Dignity in death for pets

The municipal corporation of Bangalore is all set to build an animal crematorium at a cost of one crore rupees, reports Mumbai Mirror (MM) of June 27, 2008, making it the second city in India, after Bombay, to have such a facility.

Sanober Bharucha, secretary of the Bangalore based non-governmental organization (NGO) Compassion Unlimited Plus Action informed MM that the NGO’s centers in various parts of that city witness around 50 to 100 animal deaths every month. "For a long time now, we have been pressurizing (the municipality) for an animal crematorium,” she said, adding many pet owners would call up asking how they should dispose of the carcass of their pet. "Not knowing what to do, many would throw them into a dumpster, leave them on the highways or bury them by the roadside or a railway track,” Bharucha noted.

The new facility in Bangalore will have incineration facilities for both large animals like cows, oxen and horses, as well as for small pets like dogs, cats and birds. The corporation also plans to buy vehicles to transport the carcasses for which "around Rs 40 lakh has been kept aside,” a spokesman informed MM.

Improper burial can imperil public health. Harini Powar, a Bangalore based doctor revealed that 12 hours after the death of an animal, decomposition sets in, and it becomes a breeding ground for dangerous bacteria like salmonella and e-coli. Respiratory problems can increase from inhaling fumes emanating from decaying carcasses, she cautioned.

Bombay’s Bai Sakarbai Dinshaw Petit Memorial Animal Hospital at Parel received an electric crematorium in 1993 courtesy a generous donation from the Godrej family. This crematorium is not meant for large animals and is used only for dogs, cats and birds, according to Col J. C. Khanna, secretary, Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). The SPCA is housed in the premises of the veterinary hospital. Fees for cremation depend on the size of the animal and range from Rs 500 for a cat to Rs 2,000 for a large dog like a Great Dane.

Interestingly, burial of pets (mainly dogs) owned by Zoroastrians is permitted on the Doongerwadi grounds in Bombay, with prior permission from the Bombay Parsi Punchayet.