Hyderabad: After serving animals for 25 years, Blue Cross of Hyderabad is now working on transforming into an Animal Welfare Training Centre. Instead of the animal rescue services it is known for, it will now focus more on being an animal birth control services provider, and organising community sponsored OP clinics and a weekend homeless adoption center.
The Blue Cross of Hyderabad (BCH), which started under a tree, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. The animal welfare society was founded in 1992 by Tollywood film actors Amala Akkineni, Akkineni Nagarjuna and animal lovers. The Blue Cross of Hyderabad was then recognised by Animal Welfare Board of India and was registered as a society in 1993.
Ms. Akkineni is known for her love of animals and has been rescuing animals from the time when she was a child. Mr. Nagarjuna says their house sometimes “looked like a zoo” as she had a donkey and some other animals as well. She’s brought the Blue Cross—a long way since then.
To reduce the number of homeless stray animals in the streets, Blue Cross vaccinates over 15,000 stray dogs, against rabies, each year. The organisation sterilises around 600 street dogs and cats every month and vaccinates them against rabies. It also conducts extensive adoption drives to find homes for stray puppies and kittens to reduce the number of homeless strays in the streets.
BCH’s transformation into an animal training centre is being done with a vision to empower everyone to help animals exponentially in their capacities. BCH will focus its organisational resour-ces on training and animal birth control efforts to reduce stray animal sufferings and disease in the streets through Anim-al Birth Control operations and anti-rabies vaccinations. In 2016, BCH trained 114 government vets from Andhra Prade-sh, organising a three-week training program-me that was conducted in six batches. BCH has also planned the same for the Telangana Government, and is awaiting the government’s response.
Amala Akkineni, chairperson, Blue Cross of Hyderabad, said: "BCH's animal welfare training will provide training on surgical procedures for vets, training on how to increase awareness on animal welfare in communities, and first aid for animals for students and individuals. We will also provide dog training courses and animal behavioural training."
She added, "All 114 vets from AP who came for the training always said that they had never learnt surgeries but were expected to do the surgeries. Now, after training, they are able to do surgeries that will help thousands of animals in their district. With this training centre our main aim is to train professionals and citizens on conducting animal welfare."
