GUWAHATI: Local animal rights activists are in a rage over a Maharashtra MLA's proposal to send stray dogs to Assam to control their population.
Prahar Janshakti Party politician Bachchu Kadu, at a session of the Maharashtra Assembly last week, remarked that stray dogs should be sent to Assam as a solution to tackle the issue.
He added that he thought Assamese citizens consumed dogs. Kadu made the comments in response to a debate in the Maharashtra Legislature about the threat posed by street dogs, which was brought up by MLAs Pratap Sarnaik and Atul Bhatkhalkar.
Animal rights advocates criticised Kadu for his "inhumane and outrageous" statement after they heard him make it.
Just Be Friendly (India) Trust, which operates a veterinary clinic and a dog cemetery on the outskirts of Guwahati, claimed Kadu's idea was offensive to the Assamese people.
"We ask all national organisations and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to take the appropriate action on this matter.
Dogs are not classified as food animals, so the ministry in question should also take this up, according to Sashanka Sekhar Dutta of JBF India.
The MLA from Maharashtra reportedly mentioned about seeing dogs being sold for between Rs 8,000 and Rs 9,000 in the state of Assam.
Kadu was one of several MLAs who had taken refuge in a hotel in Guwahati during the political crisis in Maharashtra, led by Shiv Sena's Eknath Shinde, who is currently the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
People For Animals (PFA) members have also criticised Kadu for his "insensitive" remark. An Assam-based PFA spokesperson referred to such views as "insults to the legislature" when they were expressed in an assembly.
According to Kadu, Assam should receive all stray dogs from the state because people there eat dog meat.
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