Maneka Gandhi shuts her animal centre after dog cruelty video surfaces

Lok Sabha MP Maneka Gandhi said on Saturday that Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care Centre, helmed by her, will be shutting down from August 1 after a video of animal cruelty went viral on social media. 

On July 5, animal activist Kaveri Bharadwaj shared a video in which three men were seen brutally beating a dog and slamming it against a wall in a clinic.

Following this, another video shared by a woman claiming to be a staff at the animal care centre went viral. In the video, the woman was seen describing the ordeal of the dog, which eventually succumbed to injuries. 

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In a statement on Saturday, Maneka Gandhi said the video was indeed from her centre.

“The incident has shocked us all to the core — I have been personally seething with rage and have been sick to my stomach since I watched the horrifying video. We immediately filed an FIR against the para-vets and they have been arrested. The doctor in-charge of the section has been given a notice to leave. But this is not enough,” Maneka Gandhi wrote.

She then announced that the centre will remain closed for a complete overhaul.

“We will overhaul the hospital management and its staff completely, while ensuring everyone working there is provided with animal-sensitivity training. It is time to rebuild this institution from the ground-up, and ensure that such an incident is never repeated again,” Maneka said in a statement. 

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Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care Centre, which was founded in 1980, is India’s oldest and Delhi’s largest all-animal centre. 

Last month, veterinarians in India observed a ‘black day’ and wore black badges to protest against Maneka Gandhi for allegedly abusing a veterinary doctor over phone.

“She used unparliamentary language during the conversation,” President of IVA, Umesh Sharma, said in a statement, PTI reported.