It's a dog's life out here in the streets

By Bindu Jacob

NEW DELHI, MAY 23. He is one of many players in the illegal business of breeding and sale of lab animals across Delhi. A typical day for him begins with taking orders for dogs caught for research. The price of each is pegged at Rs. 1,000, but you can bargain it down to Rs. 700. Since catching dogs in the city is illegal, they are smuggled in from neighbouring towns and villages.

He prefers you pick the dog yourself, but promise him extra payment and he will home deliver the consignment, drugged in a gunny bag. You can buy from him rabbits, rats, guinea pigs and birds as well.

He is part of a large chain of suppliers to whom medical colleges and other institutional shoppers turn in search of "cheap" lab animals for research and testing -- never mind the

Prevention of Cruelty Against Animals Act which forbids illegal ``sourcing of animals from uncertified and unregistered breeders or picking up animals off the roads, forests and pounds''.

This unlawful network came to light after the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA) cracked down recently on a dealer whose subsequent ``confessions'' opened up the Pandora's box. The CPCSEA report revealed that while the hub of illegal trade in Delhi was centered in the Jama Masjid area, one could obtain lab animals from dealers in Tilak Nagar, Darya Ganj, Ashok Vihar, Jawahar Nagar, Karol Bagh, Rajpur Road and Model Town as well.

``Illegal animal suppliers do not have a proper infrastructure nor invest in care of animals. Most animals are kept and bred in overcrowded cages in poorly ventilated rooms and at times go without food and water for days. No veterinary, health monitoring or sterilisation equipment is ever used in handling these animals, most of whom are infected and sick,'' says Ms. Sonia Ghosh of CPCSEA. ``Buying animals from illegal sources only for monetary profit means putting the institution's staff and students at a major risk of catching infections besides compromising with the quality of research.''

Given this scenario, why do top institutions still buy from these illegal ``vendors'' when the city has 18 breeding and research units of its own? ``Immediate monetary benefit is a motivating factor," says Ms. Ghosh.

For their part, the animal vendors say they do not register with CPCSEA for fear of having to wade through governmental ``hassles''. But the truth, according to CPCSEA, is that they find it difficult to meet the stringent standards required to maintain an animal house.

The CPCSEA Chairperson, Ms. Maneka Gandhi, has now decided to crack down on illegal suppliers and revoke the licence of any lab taking supplies from them. ``The filthy conditions in which these animals are kept and bred, and later experimented on, do not really benefit human beings. It is a practice that needs to be stopped.''

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