Hyderabad: Nine camels out of the 20 rescued died due to climatic conditions. They had been rescued by the Greater Hyderabad Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (GHSPCA) on June 3 from two different locations, 15 camels from Sangareddy and 5 from Balapur.
Camels are smuggled for slaughter, domestication and for their milk.
As camel slaughter is banned in Rajasthan, the animals are whisked out of the state secretly at the height of summer, with smugglers claiming they were being taken for grazing because of the shortage of pastural land in the desert state.
The District Court of Sangareddy in July ordered the GHSPCA to deposit a security bond of Rs 2 lakh for the transportation of the camels to Rajasthan. The judge said a security bond was a common requirement.
The GHSPCA appealed to the High Court to review the decision of the District Court and on August 2, the High Court reversed the order of the lower court since the GHSPCA was doing it voluntarily.
“If you are asked to pay a Rs 2 lakh bond, in future no other organisation will come forward to take up the responsibility of saving the animals,” read the High Court order.
Soudharm Bhandari from GHSPCA said “Meanwhile nine camels died due to health problems during the rainy season. We tried our best to save them but unfortunately we couldn’t.”
With the help of NGOs like People for animals (PFA) and Bharathi Prani Mithra Sang (BPMS), the transportation and sheltering of camels was possible. The camels were eventually sent back to Sirohi district of Rajasthan on Sunday without any government help.
“They were transported in three trucks which cost around Rs 1.5 lakh and it took another Rs 2.5 lakh for shelter, food and medication at a goshala.” said Soudharm Bhandari.
The Rajasthan Camel (Prohibition of Slaughter and Regulation of Temporary Migration or Export) Act bans slaughter, trade and unauthorised transportation of camels. Killing camels can land the offender in jail for up to five years.
