Shocking: Indian Army 'Kills' Canine Army On Retirement

They don't just fetch, sit and catch, but they are trained to serve their country as well. They can hound criminals and sniff bombs. But the highly trained and decorated dogs that serve the Indian army don't go gently into retirement, with benefits and a slower life reminiscing about their days in service.

In a shocking response to a right to information query, the Indian Army has said that it euthanises its dogs and horses on retirement, or at any point when they are judged to be unfit for service beyond a month.

The RTI sought details about the method of disposal of animals, including dogs, in the Army. The reply: "Army horses and dogs are evaluated for their fitness with respect to the performance of duties. The animals which are considered unfit for one month active service are disposed of by humane euthanasia."

After being trained at places including Remount Veterinary Corps, Meerut and National Training Centre for Dogs and Animals, Chandigarh, they are absorbed into the Army. "Each dog specialises in a particular field," said Maj Gen (retd) Kharb, who is also the chairman of Animal Welfare Board of India. "Dogs are used for infantry patrol, tracking, explosive detection, guarding bases, and casualty detection in times of disaster."

A retired Army official, on conditions of anonymity, said the Army puts to sleep its dogs if it is unable to keep up with the rigour of its duty, even if it has a few years of life ahead. The Army generally uses Labradors, German shepherds and Belgian shepherds, depending on the altitudes and weather, besides the nature of the assignment that may include routine patrol to explosives detection. "It is a normal practice to euthanize dogs when they are found to be unfit to perform the assigned duty," the retired official said.

But why not rehabilitate the dogs after they retire? The official cites another reason, that of a security concern. "Since they are familiar with the base location, it is not ideal that they end up in civilian hands," he said. Kharb disagrees with this argument, but says euthanasia is resorted to mainly because if the retired dogs were rehabilitated with NGOs and animal welfare organizations, they would not be able to maintain these dogs with the kind of facilities the Indian Army provided them.

Kharb said that according to Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act, ordinary dogs could be euthanised only in rare cases, like if they suffer from an incurable disease. "But euthanasia of unfit army dogs is a policy decision of the Union government," he said.

Animal rights activists are angry. "Army can't play god," said Blue Cross of India general manager Dawn Williams. "The retired dogs just need food and shelter. Out of the huge funds it gets every year, the Army could easily rehabilitate its retired dogs. While serving the nation, dogs are indispensable, and as soon as they become old or unfit for service, the army washes its hand off them. This is deplorable," Williams said.

PETA India CEO Poorva P Joshipura said, "Animals cannot be tossed away like empty ammunition shells. It is unfortunate that the dogs are euthanised."