At least two stray dogs have died and several others are found severely malnourished at a shelter run by a private trust inside the Tirunelveli Corporation dump yard in Melapalayam, allegedly due to botched sterilisation surgeries and grossly inadequate post-operative care.

The issue came to light on Monday after disturbing videos circulated online, shared by animal rights activists, revealed the horrific conditions in which the dogs were confined. Activist C. Maharaja filed a complaint with the Melapalayam police, while another group approached the Tamil Nadu Animal Welfare Board seeking immediate intervention.

Activist Tharick Raja claimed 17 dogs had been locked in two poorly ventilated sheds without food or water for days. The NGO in question, Jeeva Karunya Animal Welfare Charitable Trust, had been contracted by the Tirunelveli Corporation to carry out the Animal Birth Control (ABC) procedure. “Untrained handlers may have been involved in surgeries and follow-up care, violating Animal Welfare Board of India guidelines,” Raja alleged.

Tirunelveli City Health Officer Dr. Rani inspected the facility. Postmortems were conducted on the deceased dogs by government veterinary surgeons on Monday evening. The results are expected by Tuesday.

Meanwhile, District Collector Dr. R. Sukumar said he would instruct the Commissioner to investigate the matter. However, Corporation Commissioner Dr. N. O. Sukhaputra was unavailable for comment.

A local vet confirmed the sterilisation had been carried out by a veterinarian from the trust, but no post-operative support was provided to the animals.