Srinagar, May 13: Breaking its prolonged silence, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals erstwhile top brass including the President and the Vice-President said they were so fed up of the working of the organization that they resigned much before the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) acted against the SPCA last month.

THE CANDID RESIGNATION
 Prominent young vets, Dr Gowhar Nabi Gora and Dr Khurshid Ahmed Teli who were the President and the Vice-President of the SPCA’s Kashmir Chapter, respectively, said they resigned from the chairs on 8th of April 2012, much before the AWBI asked the state government to disband the state chapter and levelled allegations against the latter.
 The vet duo had mailed their joint resignation to a senior official in the government, who also happens to the member of AWBI. The official had also happened to be the chairman of the electoral body of SPCA’s 2011 elections.
 The excerpts of their emailed resignation, a copy of which was mailed to Greater Kashmir, reads: “Dear Sir,
 Due to some unavoidable reasons, we the undersigned resign from the posts of President and Vice-president of the SPCA-K. It is as such requested that we may be instructed as to how and whom the dead stock and the ambulance could be handed over.”
 The official, however, is understood to have told them to contact the concerned quarters to tender resignation and completion of related formalities.

NO OUTSTANDING, USED OWN RESOURCES
 The vet duo said they neither misused the funds nor any assets.
 “In fact we didn’t even touch till date, the sum of Rs 5000 which was in the SPCA account at the time we assumed the charge,” Dr Gora flanked by Dr Teli said. Thereafter, they said no new funds were granted by the AWBI.
 During an exclusive chat with Greater Kashmir the vets said they managed hosting some medical camps for horses and cattle from the money they pooled out of their pockets.
 In a goodwill gesture towards the poor animals, their colleagues including senior officials in the Animal Husbandry department also pooled money for such endeavours.
 “Basically, we had joined the SPCA to provide succour to these poor and needy animals particularly horses and cattle, who are ill treated or abandoned by their masters,” the vets said adding with this aim they held camps in various areas of the Valley where the poor animals were treated.

THE TROUBLE
 They, however, said behaviour of their SPCA colleague, mostly out of station, pestered them.
 “He concentrated only and only on dogs …We were so fed up of his attitude that we asked him to reframe the society as Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Dogs,” the vet duo told Greater Kashmir.
 Referring to the growing dog menace which had assumed alarming proportions in the City, the former SPCA top brass said they were feeling concerned towards the humans for obvious reasons.
 “There was no reason to unduly support the dog issue when our fellow humans were felling prey to deadly bites every off an on. In fact, we and our own families were, and still are at risk of dog attacks…. As has to be, human life is of paramount importance,” the duo said while clarifying about their stand.

BOTTOMLINE
 Pertinently the AWBI on 21st April held a meeting and decided to disband the SPCA in JK asking the state to reconstitute it afresh. But the young vets had resigned much before that. Moreover, the AWBI’s allegation about misuse of assets looks baseless because the former SPCA top brass claimed to have not utilized the mere amount of Rs 5000 in the account when they assumed charge.
 While the SPCA’s former top members have seemingly clarified their stand, the issue remains about the ongoing sterilization of dogs, which is being seen as a million dollar business for years to come.
 While the state government insists on this costly and time consuming procedure as sole solution to the dog menace, a million dollar question posed last year by the then Chief Justice FM Ibraheem Kalif Ullah remains unanswered: Will a dog stop biting after sterilization?

Lastupdate on : Sun, 13 May 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 13 May 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 14 May 2012 00:00:00 IST