Services Offered by CUPA:

KVAFSU – CUPA Animal Shelter:
At any given point, one finds at least 200 animals housed at this facility. The shelter is open 24 hours for stray and abandoned animals. Ambulance services are from 7.30 AM to 11.00 PM. However, in an emergency, the drivers are especially called in to attend and pick-up the animal. Dogs, cats, injured birds, calves and ponies are regularly treated, catering to over 2500 cases per month.

Grooming at CUPA Animal Care Clinic	X-ray facility at Shelter

Canine Therapy Programme:
At CUPA , Canine Therapy is an integral part of the animal welfare work. CUPA dog, Charlie, works with two organizations which look after mentally challenged and autistic children. These are Vishwas – Air Force School for special children and Shrishti Special Academy. Each session lasts for 20-30 minutes in which the dog interacts with the children, plays with them, and allows them to touch, caress and play with him. The children are given information about the dog. Each session shows a marked increase in verbal communication, involvement in the animal and surroundings and cooperation with the teachers and care givers.

Charlie is a very popular therapist and his interaction with the autistic children of Shishti Special Academy is a treat to watch! Charlie loves children and his attitude towards these special children is unbelievable. He settles himself very comfortably in their midst and allows each one of them to touch him, stroke him, fondle his ears, pull his tail and at the end even rewards them with a slobbery kiss! The children have learnt to pronounce his name, speak to him and offer him biscuits and water. Each session is documented very carefully and the progress in each child's case noted.

Charlie is a wonderful ambassador from the canine world, teaching humans the value of tolerance, love and goodwill towards other species.



The use of animals as an alternative method of healing dates back as far as 18th century. Historically animals were used by the early Greeks for curing ill or mentally depressed patients. In 1953 , the first documentation of the success of animals as an additional method of healing was done. Today , Canine Therapy as it is popularly called , is used all over the world and is widely accepted.





Charlie is the most popular therapist and his interaction with the autistic children of Shishti Special Academy is a treat to watch ! Charlie loves children and his attitude towards these special children is unbelievable. He settles himself very comfortably in their midst and allows each one of them to touch him, stroke him, fondle his ears, pull his tail and at the end even rewards them with a slobbery kis! The children have learnt to pronounce his name , speak to him and offer him biscuits and water. Each session is documented very carefully and the progress in each child's case noted.

Charlie and Pinto are wonderful ambassadors from the canine world, teaching humans the value of tolerance, love and goodwill towards other species.

Large Animal Programme:
The Large Animal Programme had been supported by SPANA-Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad, U.K. Since the grant has been completed, CUPA is looking for donors and sponsors who would enable us to continue helping large animals in urban and rural areas, in the future.

CUPA still continues to hold free health camps for large animals whenever sponsors come forward to help us.

CUPA regularly works with the load bearing animals of Bangalore City, namely the bullocks and the ponies. Due to consistent monitoring of load sizes accompanied by free medications and medical advice, awareness has greatly increased. On the occasion of the Animal Welfare Fortnight in Jan.2007, prizes were given to the best maintained animals in the 2 categories. Dr. K. Sreenivasan, President of CUPA, gave the prizes away to proud owners. For the Fortnight in 2008 and subsequently this year 2009, many critical health camps are being conducted in and around the city for large animals and jutka ponies.
CUPA works with a small dedicated Gowshala that regularly looks after cattle confiscated from the illegal meat trade. Here, CUPA vet help to treat a rescued calf (above) and adult buffaloes.
CUPA goes to Tippur Village, 45 miles from the city of Bangalore, where veterinary help is inaccessible and difficult to come by. Vaccinations of guardian dogs and free treatment to farmers’ livestock, helps to create goodwill and an interest in animal welfare.

Donors and sponsors interested in helping large animals who have no access to veterinary care, are requested to contact CUPA in the feedback form provided in the "Contact Us" section of the website . Alternatively CUPA can be contacted directly through phone or mail.


Cruelty Cases Handled:
Cases of cruelties inflicted on pet and stray dogs and other animals has been the area of much concern and concerted activity by CUPA. Cases have been attended at Mysore Road, Koramangala, Indiranagar, Basavanagudi etc. A majority of the cases required counselling and education of erring and often ignorant guardians about pet care. There is a tremendous effort put in by CUPA in trying to bring about a change in the awareness of a human being's perception of an animal’s physical and emotional needs.

Awareness and Education:

CUPA photographed the pig trading activity in Aug.2006, in one of the villages near Dodaballapur, in Karnataka. This was to raise public awareness on the need to stop the cruel and inhuman torture of farm animals.

The pigs are sold for their flesh, in the weekly pig market. The pigs, that were photographed,are feral and free-ranging in nature. These are rounded up from local towns and villages for sale..



Eyewitness account of the "weekly pig market."
"what we witnessed was something akin to the Nazi torture chamber.. ...first we encountered a pig that was tied to the moped (two wheeler)which was to be transported to the pork shop for slaughtering.The snout and its legs were tied with the rope to the vehicle. It took us few minutes to realise that it was a live animal. It hardly moved, its eyes were glazed and it was in a state of shock.As we moved further, we found the open ground where pigs were tied and thrown on the dirty soil covered with grime. Snouts and legs were tightly tied with rope, pigs were unable to move.Many of them were pregnant sows.One of the pregnant sows was very badly injured .There were some bystanders and men involved in the trade, totally oblivious to the sufferings of the animals. They were indulging in silly banter......

Some of the pigs were being carried on a cycle to be slaughtered. Some school kids were crossing the same path to their school.They were oblivious to the suffering around them, Gen X, already desensitized. It seems next to impossible to sensitize them to the sufferings of the animals.

The worst horror was when a lorry came to transport the pigs to their slaughter destinations.They were callously flung into the lorry despite their squealing like small children.It was a heart rending scene .......

It was even more distressing to know that the intelligence of pigs can be compared to that of the higher mammals.....and to see a sentient being tortured like this was disgraceful and painful beyond words. It was like a hell out there. We came back with a horrible feeling towards entire humanity, because of millions of uncaring and indiffernt citizens. The answer to the final statement is most people don't know where their pork or meat comes from.

"Ignorance is Bliss".......if they could venture beyond their comfort zone and find out the source of their meat, humans may be able to show compassion and concern while choosing their food."

(All photographs were taken by Ms. Savitha Nagabhushan - Managing Committee Member-CUPA whose brave foray into this world revealed atrocities that few were aware of).

The Animal Birth Control Programme:
CUPA's vital contribution towards the society and community has been the propagation of the control of the population of stray dogs in a humane manner. This has been achieved by the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Programme and the Anti-Rabies Vaccination (ARV) Programme which, along with other measures is a World Health Organisation recommended Programme. This is a scientific , humane and effective method in controlling the population of stray dogs especially in developing countries like India. CUPA conducts the largest number of sterilisations and vaccination against rabies of stray dogs in Bangalore, and perhaps all over India.

Innocent animals, sterilized and vaccinated, were picked up to be destroyed by the Bangalore City Corporation (BMP), in a knee-jerk reaction to a child being killed by a pack of feral strays, in an unregulated, illegal and open slaughter-house area on Jan 5th. Bangalore’s structured and monitored Animal birth control (ABC) programme spun out of control, with the BMP embarking on a killing spree, in reaction to adverse media and public pressure.
Public debate was organized by the Bangalore City Corporation, in response to the public wishes. City Commissioner and senior health officers presided over the meeting.
Stray Dog Free Bangalore (SDFB) -an advocacy group for the killing of ALL community & street dogs as a control measure were greatly outnumbered. The crowd was overwhelming in its support of sterilization and vaccination as a management strategy for community dogs.
Animal lovers protested the unwarranted killing of sterilized dogs by the BMP in response to media pressure. They greatly outnumbered the killing advocates. Supporters willing to pay community dog cess on their property taxes for the ABC programme outnumbered the opposing group.		Sanober Bharucha – CUPA – makes an impassioned speech about the humane and scientific control and management of community dogs. The BMP is convinced they will not be able to change the programme, due to strong NGO & public pressure.

ARV PROGRAMME:
"CUPA" has a daily programme on the streets of Bangalore . Our small ARV team comprising of Veterinarian Dr. A. Kumar and attendant select and vaccinate all the street dogs that they come across with the Anti-Rabies vaccine thereby raising the Rabies immunity of the street animals. The programme has been sponsored by the Bangalore City Corporation. A wonderful outcome has been that in the past one year there has been NO RABIES DEATH in the City Corporation limits.

On Oct 8th'06, CUPA conducted another large animal camp at Om Goshala, located 12 kms from Hebbal, in Bangalore. Initiated by the Venugopala Gosamrakshana Trust 4 years ago, it houses approximately 65 animals including calves.
A large open space with bare minimum fencing, it had 2 sheds to shelter the animals during rain and extreme heat.
All the animals had been rescued en route to slaughter houses. There were cows, bulls, calves and buffaloes left loose within a large enclosing. Almost all the animals were malnourished or old.		Majority of them were the non descriptive local breed with a couple of indigenous breeds like Hallike and Amritmahals thrown in.
To all the adults, mineral mixtures and de worming tablets were given. Then CUPA veterinarian, Dr.Sharanabasavappa started his rounds injecting every animal with B complex, Tonophosphan and FMD vaccine (if necessary). 43 animals were injected.		Illegally transported from places like Hubli, Darwad and other district towns in Karnataka, they are brought into the city to be slaughtered in Bangalore, at Shivajinagar. Each lorry, which should legally load only 4-5 animals, are stuffed with about 40. Into every inch of space an animal is squeezed in. Many are brutally handled to silence and fit them into the vehicle. Many animals had their their tails cut.
One case was particularly heart rending. Tobacco had been pressed and rubbed deep into the cornea of a cow so that it would stay quiet. As a result, that cow is blind with sunken eyes. Other signs of cruelty like physical wounds and cuts were also seen and treated.		CUPA was told that the team who secretly intercepted these illegal transports and rescued the animals did not wish to reveal the identity of the members, as their lives were in danger. Adult cows were sold between Rs.2000-3000/-. The calves were priced at a meager Rs. 100-150/- Calf meat is regularly mixed with mutton in the market as the difference can seldom be told!
Rendering treatment was really difficult. Having been badly abused with only trauma and fear memories, the animals reared, kicked, struggled and tried to run free. The importance of buying them a trevis became only too obvious.
Animal Welfare Inspector Munirammana and goshala worker help to catch and steady the animals while the vet injected.		Since the goshala runs only on donations, the animals are let out of their enclosures and left to graze on the vast areas of land around. CUPA volunteers explained the importance of implementing the urea enrichment program for better nourishment of the feed. Tentative plan to implement the urea enrichment scheme is in January 2007.
CUPA needs to conduct a camp every month, if possible, at this goshala or at least when new batches of rescued animals come in. Om Gaushala has promised to take in any rescued large animal from the CUPA shelter.
Two trevis, priced around 7000-8000/- each have to be bought for treatment of these animals, one for the Ghatti and the other for the Om Goshala. Funds have to be raised and orders placed at the earliest.		CUPA Managing Committee member Rajani Badami and volunteer Anushya Kumar take a break.
(All photographs have been taken by Managing Committee member, Savitha Nagabhushan.)