Thirty-three-old Pradeep Nair is a busy man, shuffling between his job as a software engineer and rescuing animals in the city. Pradeep is the founder of the group called ‘Animal Warrior India’ that has taken the responsibility of rescuing animals in need, after the animal welfare NGO, Blue Cross in Hyderabad stopped its animal rescue service.
“I get time in the morning before leaving office which I spend in rescuing animals. Sometimes when I get call in the middle of my work. I try to find time as soon as possible to go for the rescue operation,” Pradeep said.
Pradeep, who used to volunteer at Blue Cross, realised the difficulties NGOs like Blue Cross face in sustaining rescue operations for animals.
“The NGOs get bombarded with calls to give shelter to all animals with all types of injuries. If they refuse, people blame them for not doing their job. What the animal lovers fail to understand is that the NGOs face a lot of fund crisis and it is not possible for them to give shelter to all the animals,” Pradeep said.
Pradeep realised that all animals on the street do not need rescuing, when in 2007 he dropped a few puppies he found on the street near his house at the NGO.
“In the NGO they were inside a limited area, whereas outside they had the freedom to roam around the whole colony. I felt that I took away their freedom in the name of rescue. Then I realised the NGOs and welfare homes should be for treatment of injured animals and release them once they are healthy,” he said.
The group of 20 people has come up with the idea of involving more people in rescuing animals. Along rescuing animals, Pradeep and his group train citizens about how they can contribute towards the rescue and rehabilitation of injured animals.
Pradeep says animal injury can be categorised according to the extent of their injuries.
“There are three levels of injury. If it is a minor injury, treatment can be given on the spot and the animal will be free to be on the road. We will conduct training camps across Hyderabad with the help of veterinarians to teach how the animals can be given first aid on the spot,” Pradeep explained.
However, if animal sustain small fractures because of accidents, which require two to three days to recover, anyone who can spare a small space for the animal in their locality can provide them shelter. “We ask people to contribute and give shelter for a few days. Animals have a good immune system, so they do not require too long for recovery. We have small pocket shelters in five different areas in the city where we keep animals for a few days,” he added.
The third category of animals are animals that are suffering from diseases like rabies. In that case the NGOs and welfare centres like Blue Cross or People for Animals would provide shelter.
“In this way it will not put too much pressure on the welfare centres. NGOs will step in when people cannot handle the situation of the animal’s health,” he said.
The group’s training has encouraged many citizens in the city to extend help in providing shelter to animals in need for a few days.
“We can see some positive responses. For instance, this lady called to rescue a puppy who had met with an accident. After the treatment, she asked us to keep the puppy in the shelter. I asked her to spare a small space near her house for the puppy instead. To my surprise she agreed and kept the puppy with her for four days,” he said.
As the group is not a registered NGO, and do not accept fund from people, they pay for the treatment from their own pockets and encourage other people to do so as well.
“If we start accepting fund, then people will force us to keep the animals in our shelter. Our situation will become the same as the other NGOs. So we encourage people to contribute for the treatment the way we do,” said Pradeep.
‘Animal Warrior India’ runs pocket shelters in Lingampally, Kukatpally, Yousufguda, Koti and Miyapur areas, where two to three animals are currently staying in each shelter.