Kerala landslides: Animal welfare dept working to get new homes for ownerless animals

Wayanad (Kerala): The massive landslides that hit this north Kerala district did not just rip apart families, but also left many domestic animals ownerless, including livestock, who can be seen roaming in the disaster-stricken areas looking for food.

These homeless animals will now get a home thanks to the Animal Welfare Department, which has decided to hand them over to dairy farmers in the vicinity of the landslide-hit areas who are willing to take them, the district administration said in a statement.

The Animal Welfare Department, which is operating a 24-hour control room at Chooralmala -- one of the landslide-hit areas -- will accurately record the names of the dairy farmers to whom the animals will be handed over, the statement said.

Domestic animals and birds found alive or dead from the disaster-affected places, including Chooralmala and Mundakkai, will be brought to the control room and further action will be taken after that.

Presently, the ownerless animals are being provided food and water by NGOs and other volunteers, it said.

It also said that a day ago, two puppies recovered from the Chooralmala disaster site were handed over to the military and police special defense group.

The district administration also said that a team of veterinarians and field officers were working in two batches to take care of these animals.

Meanwhile, the Animal Welfare Department said that the landslides have caused a loss of Rs 2.5 crore in the animal husbandry sector in the disaster-hit areas of Chooralmala and Mundakkai.

The department said the loss was calculated based on the death of domestic animals, cattle sheds, destroyed crops, milking machines, etc.

It further said that till Saturday, 26 cows, seven calves and 310 chickens were found dead due to the landslides and seven cattle sheds were destroyed. Besides that, 107 domestic animals were missing, it added.

The department also said that it was making arrangements in collaboration with the Brahmagiri Development Society to rehabilitate stray domestic animals in the landslides-hit area.