Kerala man moves High Court to feed his cats amid lockdown

To what extent can one go for their pets? This Kerala man filed a writ petition in the state High Court after the police turned down his request to issue a vehicle pass for buying pet-food amid the COVID-19 lockdown.

In the petition, N Prakash, a resident of Maradu Municipal Corporation in Kochi, stated that he feeds his cats with a biscuit named “Meo-Persian” as he is a vegetarian and non-vegetarian food is not cooked in his house. One packet of 7 kilograms of “Meo Persian” is sufficient for the cats for three weeks.

Prakash also mentioned that after the stock got exhausted, he applied for vehicle pass online for travelling to Cochin Pet Hospital on April 4 for buying the cat food.

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Right to get food and shelter is a guaranteed right for domesticated animals under Sections 3 and 11 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, he mentioned in his petition.

Prakash told the court that he had three cats to feed, which included 8-year-old Karpi and her two one-month-old kittens who were still being breastfed, 5-year-old Mukki who recently had her uterus removed, and the youngest Kunju Karpi, who the family has been taking care of for the last 2-3 months, HuffPost reported.

Kudos to Kerala High Court which took note of the fact that “animal food and fodder” are covered under essential items and accordingly, the petition was allowed.

“While we are happy to have come to the aid of the felines in this case, we are also certain that our directions will help avert a “CATastrophe” in the petitioner’s home,” the judgment concluded.

(With inputs from agencies)