- When man’s best friend is in trouble
Dogs are said to be some of the most loving, loyal, and caring animals out there. To kill one in cold blood – many would deem that an unforgivable sin. The Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) became the highlight of news recently, when animal welfare activists, in a very disturbing post that was circling around on social media, claimed that BMICH was allegedly killing the dogs on its premises. According to the post, on 8, 9 and 10 of August,12-14 dogs – that the animals rights activists knew of – who have been resident in the grounds of BMICH for years, were allegedly injected with poison, killed, and bodies dumped at an undisclosed place in Negombo at the orders of BMICH CEO Sunil Dissanayake.
We tried several times to reach Dissanayake but weren’t successful. In a public post regarding these alleged killings published on BMICH’s official Facebook page, Dissanayake stated that the management of BMICH refutes the false claims presently circulating on social media that claim they are eradicating stray dogs roaming on their premises, by poisoning and killing them.
Stating what he claims to be facts, Dissanayake informed the public that large numbers of stray dogs find their way into BMICH premises and cause many problems to their customers, visitors, and staff. “Our customers were attacked by these dogs on four or five occasions. These dogs attacked a staff member about two months ago who had to be administered rabies injections and medical care,” he added. Furthermore, he claimed that they had received numerous complaints from parents of students who attend various classes held in their buildings, adding: “They state that they feel extremely unsafe with the large packs of stray dogs on our premises.”
False statements?
He further stated that before the dogs began to attack their customers and staff, they undertook a joint programme with Embark to vaccinate and sterilise the dogs found in their compound, as well as take away the puppies. “This was carried out as we did not wish to drive out the stray dogs and thought that we could allow them to remain on our premises while making it safe for our customers,” he added.
Brunch spoke to Embark Founder Otara Gunewardene to verify this statement and learnt that the vaccination programme was conducted back in January 2020. “If there was any help needed recently, they could have contacted Embark. They could have easily found an alternative to this problem.” She also stated that she is unsure of all the details, but emphasised that there are better ways to handle such a situation. Commenting on Dissanayake’s statement that said they took the puppies away, Gunewardene informed us that they never received a call from BMICH; the call was from animal activist Anusha David who saw that the puppies were crying because they didn’t have a mother, which Embark acted on. The puppies were then handed over to animal activist Visaka Tillekeratne.
Dissanayake’s statement further said that, despite this vaccination programme, an increasing number of dogs began to appear on their premises. “Under these circumstances, we had no other choice but to have the dogs taken away officially by the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC).”
Speaking to CMC Chief Municipal Veterinary Surgeon Dr. M. Ijas regarding this comment, he said: “This statement is very wrong. We have no involvement at all. We have restricted our day-to-day activities because of the Covid situation, so we haven’t engaged in any sort of movement. I’m completely sure we didn’t get any information from BMICH regarding such an issue.” Brunch also verified with Chief of Staff to Mayoress of Colombo Kishan Karunaratne, who works at the CMC, regarding this, who confirmed that they had never received a call from BMICH and that the CMC had no involvement whatsoever.
Smear campaign or ugly truth?
Going back to Dissanayake’s statement, he also said: “We are aware that this smear campaign is being carried out by a few persons, who go around Colombo feeding stray dogs, who have barged into the BMICH premises, many times, purportedly to feed the stray dogs,” thus claiming that animal-lovers forcefully entered their premises. The BMICH Police Unit has allegedly informed them that they had entered in an unauthorised manner without permission and were trespassing. Dissanayake stated that these activists were not adhering to health regulations such as wearing masks but they were warned and sent away. “These persons have clearly used photos taken elsewhere, for their lying and irresponsible smear campaign,” he commented.
Brunch spoke to the activist behind this alleged “smear campaign” who is also Animal Welfare Trust Secretary Visaka Tillekeratne to hear their side of the story. Tillekeratne maintained that the only truth to Dissanayake’s statement is that they do feeding rounds. “I don’t feed at BMICH, but all of us check with each other about which dogs to feed. In this particular case, the team that was feeding was headed by Anusha David.” She explained that both David and her team do go into BMICH to feed the dogs, and upon one of these rounds, David noticed about 14 dogs were missing for several days.
We come back to Dissanayake’s statement in which he said: “The BMICH follows strict regulations during the pandemic, including not permitting any unauthorised persons to enter our premises. However, we inform those who forcibly enter our premises to feed the stray dogs therein, if they are true dog-lovers, to take away these dogs for adoption, in the same way that Embark has been doing to the best of their ability.”
Commenting on the accusation that they were breaking and entering into BMICH, Tillekeratne stated that to enter the premises, one has to sign-in, giving their name and ID number as per the current Covid regulations, which they followed. “This is not a matter of breaking and entering, we are just feeding the animals; where else would they be fed properly?” she questioned.
Brunch spoke to animal activist Anusha David, who said she initially noticed that the dogs were missing. Setting the scene for us yesterday, she said: “I lodged a complaint today (16) because the dogs I had been feeding at the BMICH were greatly reduced in number, and there were hardly any dogs left – this was on the 6 or 7 August,” stated David. She explained that before she could approach the security officers on what had happened, they approached her and informed her that the dogs had been taken. When she questioned them further, she was told that the CEO had allegedly ordered the dogs to be taken, but they didn’t know who took the dogs.
Recounting what the security officers had allegedly seen, David said: “Some people had come in a lorry and forcefully injected the dogs, upon which they promptly collapsed on the ground, and subsequently were put into the lorry and taken away.” Immediately, she attempted to contact Dissanayake through a friend who denied any knowledge of this incident. David left the premises after instructing the security guards to find out what had happened.
The guards had suspicions that the dogs were taken away to some place in Negombo. “Even if the dogs weren’t killed, when a dog is taken away from its known environment, they cannot fend for themselves, and the dogs in that area will attack them, so it is as good as killing them,” said David.
David further said that she doesn’t know what has happened to the dogs. “Whether they were killed, or ordered to be taken away to an unknown locality, they do not know.”
What actually happened to the dogs?
Closing his statement, Dissanayake commented: “While appreciating the importance of animal life and protecting them, the main responsibility of our management is the safety and security of our customers and staff. BMICH is an iconic landmark of Sri Lanka, and as the management of this esteemed institution, it is our responsibility to ensure the safety, security, and satisfaction of all who enter our premises.”
Dissanayake strongly requested the persons carrying out this smear campaign to be more responsible and civic conscious, not only towards stray dogs but also to our citizens.
