Taking serious note of a recent incident where bank officials sealed a house along with the owner’s pets for seven days without providing for their food or care, a group of animal activists on Saturday met the Commissioner of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services to take up the issue. The house was sealed due to alleged non-payment of loans. The pets trapped inside from April 8-14 included two Persian cats, two puppies, one exotic turtle and a large aquarium.

The animal activists called for a case to be registered against Bangalore City Cooperative Bank for cruelty towards animals. They also requested the authorities to issue directions to the Reserve Bank of India Banking Ombudsman and to the Registrar of Societies, Karnataka, to implement the animal welfare guidelines.

The owner of the house, Dr. Priya Darshini managed to break into the house with the help of the police and rescued a few of her pets, but some are missing. It is a severe cruelty to confine animals without food as per Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act 1960 and hence, I request that action be initiated against erring bank officials who failed to empathise with the animals, she said in her petition.