Karuna Society for Animals and Nature

Karuna Society for Animals and Nature has been established in Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh, South India since 2000. It is a registered non-profit organization working for animal welfare and the environment by providing free medical care and shelter for sick, injured, abandoned and abused animals. Currently we have nearly 250 rescued animals receiving permanent care in our facilities: 52 dogs, 12 cats, 105 cattle, 4 horses, 4 donkeys, 5 peacocks, 4 sloth bears, 40 deer, 17 monkeys.

We have 12A, 80G, FCRA, Darpan; and we are recognised by the Animal Welfare Board of India and the Central Zoo Authority of India. We have received two national awards – the Nari Shakti Puraskar & Venu Menon Award. We have a permanent staff of 32 people. Our management and administration have received the “GOLD” standard in “Governance, Financial Management and Legal Compliances” by FMSF (Financial Management Services Foundation) and CPA Services, Oracle.

Mission

• To rescue and rehabilitate animals and nature in distress in our immediate environment.
• To provide free medical care, shelter and lifetime care for those animals that cannot be rehabilitated.
• To analyse the causes of the existing problems and create solutions and improvements as to how the suffering can be relieved or prevented.
• Campaigning against the use of animals in sports, zoos, hunting, animal experimentation, genetic engineering, vivisection and other practices where animals are subjected to tremendous suffering.
• To help implement the Indian laws regarding cruelty and abuse of animals and nature, e.g. illegal transport and slaughter of cattle, animal sacrifice, poaching and the destruction of forests.
• Rescue, rehabilitation and conservation of all wild animals in distress in our area in a scientific manner and provide life-time care and rehabilitation to those in need.
• To end the hunting and poaching in all possible ways through legal action and also by avoiding / preventing man-animal conflict.

Our Projects:

• In and Outpatient Department for all local dogs, cats and every stray animal. We provide lifetime care for disabled cats and dogs. We provide free treatment for all stray animals. Ambulance facility is available for rescue.
• Animal Birth control and Anti Rabies vaccination for stray dogs. Since 2002, Karuna has been successfully implementing its Animal Birth Control (ABC) and Anti-Rabies (AR) programs in the rural areas of our district. Over fourteen thousand dogs have been sterilized and vaccinated by Karuna Society. We are performing between 500 – 600 ABC surgeries per year in our area. We also provide other surgeries as well, like amputations, wound stitching etc. Usually we have 20 ABC dogs recovering from surgery in our kennels. Every year we perform the Anti Rabies Vaccination drive in Puttaparthi and surrounding villages. Nearly 1000 dogs will be vaccinated each time.
• Large animal rescue: cattle rescued from illegal slaughter, and rescue of abused and abandoned horses and donkeys. We provide shelter and food for the rest of their lives. We have a large animal hospital and perform surgeries such as rumenotomy (removed plastic from cattle’s stomaches), amputations, sterilisations. We established a cattle shelter for healthy cows, bulls and buffaloes. All animals are sterilized/castrated. There is no reproduction and no milk. During the rainy season the animals are free to graze during the day in the forest under supervision of the herders. During the summer drought we grow green cattle grass on our leased land and we purchase dry grass and feed from outside to feed all the animals.
• Wildlife rescue and rehabilitation for all kind of wild animals in our area. We provide lifetime care and shelter at present for 65 wild animals (5 peafowl, 4 sloth bears, 28 black bucks, 11 sambar & spotted deer, 14 bonnet macaques, 3 Grey Tufted Langurs). At present they live at our old wildlife rescue center since 2001, but we are building a new and larger facility near to the National Forest. In the past there were many wild animal species in our local forests but slowly most of the species are disappearing. .We are rescuing all different wild animals in distress and after treatment it is our aim to release them back into their habitat.At present 46 wild animals receive permanent care in our rescue center. Inside the Centre the facilities have become old and repairs are not possible. The new Wildlife Rescue Centre under construction is 18 acres and is close to the reserve forest. Basic infrastructure construction like water bodies, tree plantation, water tanks, total compound wall, electricity, security house, kitchen and the bear rooms have been taken up from 4 March 2016. This center is also recognized & approved of by the Central Zoo Authority of India on 02.08.2023. As soon as possible we need to relocate the animals from the old Centre to the new Centre. The Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre is important for the future of all wild animals.