About Karuna Society
Rescue and rehabilitate domestic animals in distress in our immediate environment
Our team is dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating animals in distress. We go the extra mile to ensure that any animal requiring ongoing care receives the medical attention, food, and shelter they need. Our commitment is unwavering, ensuring that each creature in our care has the best chance at a healthy and happy life.
We’ve structured our efforts into distinct projects, each dedicated to specific aspects of animal welfare. These projects allow us to focus our resources effectively and tackle various challenges faced by animals in our community. Whether it’s rescue and rehabilitation, veterinary care, public awareness campaigns, or habitat conservation, our projects enable us to make a meaningful impact across a range of critical areas.
Animal birth control and anti rabies
First aid centre for stray/street animals in distress
Cattle rescue and Cattle hospital
Wildlife rescue centre
Karuna Society has been involved in the rescue of local wildlife from its inception in 2000.
There is little or no structural support for wild animals in distress in our area. The closest zoo or rescue centre is hundreds of kilometers away.
Initially we did not have proper facilities to treat and keep injured wildlife but we improved and developed our facilities year by year, adjusting to the needs of the animals and the requirements made by the Central Zoo Authorities.
We received two donations for the construction of the Sloth Bear facilities and three times a small grant to rescue the Painted Stork chicks at Veerapuram. All other expenses for 15 years have been paid out of Karuna’s general donations.
In Andhra Pradesh there are some protected areas for wildlife but the problems wild animals are facing occur mostly in rural areas where villagers encroach on animal habitat by agricultural activities and man-animal conflicts that occur at times of drought when wild animals, in search of water and food, come close to the villages. Hunting with packs of dogs happens all year around and is part of “village life”.
Anantapur district is home to approximately 150 Sloth Bears, countless Black Buck, Sambar Deer, Peafowl, Monkeys, Snakes, Wild Boars, Painted Storks, Pangolin, and many more
How its started – a brief history
When I arrived in Puttaparthi with my husband and son in 1995, it didn’t take much time for me to see the suffering of animals all around. I saw countless street dogs with pups, often run over by buses on the main road. I was also concerned about donkeys dying on the side of the main road without any help.
Very soon my house was full of sick animals and I was helping out on the street as much as I could. Of course, I was not the only one moved by this misery. A small group of devotees from the UK came forward to help and to provide funds, and the “Animal Rescue Project Puttaparthi” was born on 23rd August 1998 with the help of CUPA (Compassion Unlimited Plus Action) from Bangalore. In 2000, we felt we were ready to make our own decisions and planning and on September 18 “Karuna Society for Animals & Nature” was registered.
Setting up the shelter/clinic for treatment, in-patient care and sterilizations was the first step. Then our horizon widened and we became aware of the suffering of milking animals, starving calves and illegal transports to the slaughterhouses. In 2002 we rescued the first cows and buffaloes from illegal transport. Over time we have taken into our care more than 700 head of cattle. At present, approximately 300 head of cattle are with us including donkeys, a few horses and a camel.
Becoming more and more aware of our wider environment, we found the suffering of wildlife appalling: hunting by the local communities, droughts, electrocution of wildlife by farmers to protect their crops; there is no end to it. At present, we are starting the construction of our new wildlife rescue centre close to the reserve forest, for which we need more support. There, sloth bears, deer, monkeys, birds and snakes will find the care they need.
On a personal note, being so intimately involved with the lives of animals has given me a very profound experience of the oneness and equality of all life forms emanating from the Divine.