India's unregulated pet care sector breeds scams, exploits animals and people
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Pune: The lack of regulation in the animal welfare sector in India has allowed for the emergence of a breeding ground for fraudsters that exploit both animals and volunteers.
In the absence of proper oversight, there has been a disturbing proliferation of spurious animal shelters nationwide, operating as profit-making ventures while charging exorbitant monthly fees from rescuers and individuals.
The trend was exemplified in 2024, when a counterfeit shelter was set up near Delhi using the name of People for Animals, a well-known group run by Maneka Gandhi. "People have been calling me from across the country, particularly those familiar with our work at PFA, to inform us about this duplicity. An investigation is underway," Gandhi stated.
Puneeta Khanna, Pune unit head for PFA, explained to TOI that while people endeavour to "rescue" animals, they often lack the wherewithal for permanent adoption.
"They then relinquish the animals at any available shelter without conducting due diligence. They neither inspect the facilities nor research their credentials, simply transferring the animal and payments before disengaging completely. This prevalent behaviour enables fraudulent operations to flourish," she said.
Social media platforms have amplified duplicitous schemes, with fraudsters fabricating counterfeit NGO accounts and misappropriating content from legitimate organisations to conduct crowdfunding campaigns.
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Swindlers manipulate digital platforms, disseminating emotive posts and reels to solicit donations — which never reach intended beneficiaries.
Richa Singh Choudhuri, who runs a senior dog shelter in Delhi, revealed how fraudsters pilfered photographs and videos posted by genuine animal welfare NGOs seeking funds for medical treatments. "This recurring issue recently affected our campaign for Mozart, a dog requiring costly surgery for luxating patella.
Scamsters already pocketed thousands before some people informed us about their posts, and we messaged them to shut it down and threatened them with legal action.
While some perpetrators remove such posts when confronted, many persist, necessitating formal complaints," Choudhuri said.
The post-pandemic surge in pet boarding services also witnessed inexperienced individuals offering boarding facilities, where pets frequently endure confinement without adequate care.
Pet parent Pallavi Doshi shared her harrowing experience with a Bengaluru-based facility, where her dog went missing when she came back to pick him up after a four-day stay. "Despite promises of daily updates, they did not send us anything and stopped picking up our calls.
We spent our holiday in panic. When we rushed back to pick him up, they claimed our pet ran away. We searched high and low and offered rewards, but he was nowhere to be found.
Later, we were informed by others who gave bad reviews to the facility that they too faced similar issues with their breed male dogs and suspected that they were sold to breeders," said Doshi.
Many establishments operate without standardised criteria for staff recruitment, occasionally employing individuals who demonstrate cruelty towards animals. Incidents have surfaced on social media, including in Feb 2025, when a Chow Chow endured brutal treatment at a Thane pet clinic, and the Oct 2024 tragedy involving a Cocker Spaniel's death at a Noida boarding facility.
Vineeta Tandon, who manages Animal Rescue Trust in Pune, said too many shelters operate sans proper registration, staff or capabilities. "Many just procure shop act licences and function ignoring safety guidelines. The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) stipulates that shelters shouldn't retain healthy, self-sufficient animals or keep them caged. However, profit-driven facilities disregard this," she said.
"Healthy strays are unnecessarily removed from their natural habitat by emotional activists who believe institutional care is superior. They often end up confined without proper sustenance, contrary to natural street existence where they enjoy freedom and regular feeding," Tandon added.
This malpractice was evident when in Oct 2024, authorities rescued over 50 animals from a fraudulent shelter in Ravet. The proprietor distributed counterfeit receipts and falsely claimed veterinary credentials.
Similarly, in June last year, an illegal dog hostel was shut down in Jodhpur following PETA India's intervention, where animals had endured abusive training methods.
Geetanjali Taur, founder of Saahas for Animals, advocates for an urgent need for stringent industry regulation. "Transparency is key. When you find that an NGO is not being open for visitations and about their facilities or answering all questions, it should raise a red flag.
But it's time clear rules, standards, and guidelines are set and strictly implemented across all animal-related businesses and charitable establishments.
Volunteers must exercise prudence rather than making emotionally driven impulsive decisions that compromise animal welfare."
According to Meet Ashar, an animal rights advocate and cruelty case division legal advisor at PETA India, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita in its current form does not strengthen legal protection for animals.
"While BNS removes different punishments based on the value of the animal and prescribes a uniform punishment for killing or maiming, irrespective of species, it has done more damage by totally removing the provision that penalised sexual abuse of animals," he pointed out.
Pune: The lack of regulation in the animal welfare sector in India has allowed for the emergence of a breeding ground for fraudsters that exploit both animals and volunteers.
In the absence of proper oversight, there has been a disturbing proliferation of spurious animal shelters nationwide, operating as profit-making ventures while charging exorbitant monthly fees from rescuers and individuals.
The trend was exemplified in 2024, when a counterfeit shelter was set up near Delhi using the name of People for Animals, a well-known group run by Maneka Gandhi. "People have been calling me from across the country, particularly those familiar with our work at PFA, to inform us about this duplicity.
An investigation is underway," Gandhi stated.
Puneeta Khanna, Pune unit head for PFA, explained to TOI that while people endeavour to "rescue" animals, they often lack the wherewithal for permanent adoption. "They then relinquish the animals at any available shelter without conducting due diligence. They neither inspect the facilities nor research their credentials, simply transferring the animal and payments before disengaging completely.
This prevalent behaviour enables fraudulent operations to flourish," she said.
Social media platforms have amplified duplicitous schemes, with fraudsters fabricating counterfeit NGO accounts and misappropriating content from legitimate organisations to conduct crowdfunding campaigns. Swindlers manipulate digital platforms, disseminating emotive posts and reels to solicit donations — which never reach intended beneficiaries.
Richa Singh Choudhuri, who runs a senior dog shelter in Delhi, revealed how fraudsters pilfered photographs and videos posted by genuine animal welfare NGOs seeking funds for medical treatments. "This recurring issue recently affected our campaign for Mozart, a dog requiring costly surgery for luxating patella. Scamsters already pocketed thousands before some people informed us about their posts, and we messaged them to shut it down and threatened them with legal action.
While some perpetrators remove such posts when confronted, many persist, necessitating formal complaints," Choudhuri said.
The post-pandemic surge in pet boarding services also witnessed inexperienced individuals offering boarding facilities, where pets frequently endure confinement without adequate care. Pet parent Pallavi Doshi shared her harrowing experience with a Bengaluru-based facility, where her dog went missing when she came back to pick him up after a four-day stay.
"Despite promises of daily updates, they did not send us anything and stopped picking up our calls.
We spent our holiday in panic. When we rushed back to pick him up, they claimed our pet ran away. We searched high and low and offered rewards, but he was nowhere to be found. Later, we were informed by others who gave bad reviews to the facility that they too faced similar issues with their breed male dogs and suspected that they were sold to breeders," said Doshi.
Many establishments operate without standardised criteria for staff recruitment, occasionally employing individuals who demonstrate cruelty towards animals. Incidents have surfaced on social media, including in Feb 2025, when a Chow Chow endured brutal treatment at a Thane pet clinic, and the Oct 2024 tragedy involving a Cocker Spaniel's death at a Noida boarding facility.
Vineeta Tandon, who manages Animal Rescue Trust in Pune, said too many shelters operate sans proper registration, staff or capabilities.
"Many just procure shop act licences and function ignoring safety guidelines. The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) stipulates that shelters shouldn't retain healthy, self-sufficient animals or keep them caged. However, profit-driven facilities disregard this," she said.
"Healthy strays are unnecessarily removed from their natural habitat by emotional activists who believe institutional care is superior.
They often end up confined without proper sustenance, contrary to natural street existence where they enjoy freedom and regular feeding," Tandon added.
This malpractice was evident when in Oct 2024, authorities rescued over 50 animals from a fraudulent shelter in Ravet. The proprietor distributed counterfeit receipts and falsely claimed veterinary credentials. Similarly, in June last year, an illegal dog hostel was shut down in Jodhpur following PETA India's intervention, where animals had endured abusive training methods.
Geetanjali Taur, founder of Saahas for Animals, advocates for an urgent need for stringent industry regulation. "Transparency is key. When you find that an NGO is not being open for visitations and about their facilities or answering all questions, it should raise a red flag. But it's time clear rules, standards, and guidelines are set and strictly implemented across all animal-related businesses and charitable establishments.
Volunteers must exercise prudence rather than making emotionally driven impulsive decisions that compromise animal welfare."
According to Meet Ashar, an animal rights advocate and cruelty case division legal advisor at PETA India, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita in its current form does not strengthen legal protection for animals. "While BNS removes different punishments based on the value of the animal and prescribes a uniform punishment for killing or maiming, irrespective of species, it has done more damage by totally removing the provision that penalised sexual abuse of animals," he pointed out.
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