The Ministry of Defence has instructed the Department of Police to refrain from auctioning Police Service dogs before their retirement.
According to the Daily Mirror, Military Spokesman Brigadier Chandana Wickremesinghe said the directive was issued by Defence Secretary Major General (Rtd) Kamal Gunaratne to the Police Chief yesterday.
The order comes as public outcry was raised after the Police Kennels division auctioned 25 police sniffer dogs which were 10 years old for Rs. Rs.310,000.
Several animal rights activists and animal lovers had called on the authorities to refrain from auctioning the senior sniffer dogs that had helped track down drug dealers, robbers, murderers and trace missing persons.
A petition was launched to attract the attention of the authorities after they had found out the plight of one auctioned dog which was suffering health issues and was reportedly purchased for the purpose of breeding, with the new owners refusing to handover the animal in exchange for a higher payment.
As a result, the animal rights activists had highlighted that these sniffer dogs are one-master work dogs and their lives would be in danger if the auctioning was not suspended.
Meanwhile, animal rights activists Otara Gunawardena and Shilpa Samaratunga had met with the DIG of Police, Priyantha Jayakody yesterday and shared with him concerns and possible solutions for the issue.
Otara Gunawardena Tweeted that DIG Jayakody had assured that he will connect them with the Kandy Kennels so that animal rights activists can work towards a better policy not just for the 25 senior sniffer dogs but all retiring service dogs. (NewsWire)
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