In a first-of-its-kind government initiative, the Tamil Nadu government has set aside 20 crore in the state budget for NGOs that care for abandoned animals and stray dogs. Dr. Palanivel Rajan, the Finance Minister, described it as an extension of social justice.
‘The mark of an advanced compassionate society is to be kind towards everybody. In this case I think we have reached almost middle-income status in Tamil Nadu. We thought the time is now to expand who all we care for,’ Minister Rajan, an animal lover who has adopted four stray dogs, expressed his views.
Many people hope that this would help NGOs that care for abandoned animals. According to them, the concept should be emulated across the country. Shravan Krishnan, the coordinator of Chennai’s Besant Memorial Animal Dispensary, rescues a wide range of animals, from dogs to monkeys, horses to camels. Every year, he rescues about 2,000 animals.
Animal lovers and caregivers have a positive attitude into this. They expect that, in the long term, Tamil Nadu would be free of stray animals, and that this will be a model worth replicating across India.
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