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Madras India Reports on Animal Situation
 

 

by S. Chinny Krishna
Chairperson - Blue Cross of India, Madras

30 December 2004

 

As you are all aware, in India, the State of Tamil Nadu has been the worst affected with over 1,000 confirmed deaths so far.

Dr. Sarojini Varadappan and Ms. Bhargavi Devendra,  President and Honorary Secretary respectively of the Red Cross, Tamil Nadu Branch made a personal visit to areas up to 200 kms down the coast from Madras (where the Blue Cross is headquartered) and have personally told us of the literally thousands of dead animals they saw all along the beaches. 

In Madras city, our volunteer, one attender  and drivers spent the whole of Sunday and till the early hours of Monday helping whatever animals they could. The first few hours were spent just cutting loose tethered goats and cattle but many dogs and snakes (including a king cobra) were rescued. The snakes were handed over to the Forest Department's Snake Park. Three of the rescued dogs have littered - the last one just an hour ago while the Secretary of the Animal Welfare Board of India was in the Blue Cross!

Since yesterday, all that we have been doing is feeding some of the surviving dogs on the city beaches.

The city fire department also helped save some animals and there was a lovely photograph in The Hindu of Monday of a fireman with a bedraggled cat in his hand.

International Animal Rescue from Goa have sent two vets in a jeep and we have requested them to attend to the areas south of Pondicherry - about a 100 kilometers down the coast from Madras.

The final death toll in Tamil Nadu will, I estimate, be in the neighbourhood of at least 15,000 with out taking into account the inevitable epidemics that will follow.

Point Calimere, a wildlife sanctuary about 400 kms south, is still under five feet of water. It contains thousands of animals, including at least 1,800 black buck. All are probably dead.

I have just received a message from Elly Hiby asking about the situation.

We will be under the pressure of follow up work for the next three to four weeks. Any help will be appreciated.

Regards.