COLOMBO: Sri Lankan animal rights activists marched on Thursday to protest the round-up of stray dogs a day ahead of a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Authorities in Colombo and the Buddhist pilgrim city of Anuradhapura have reportedly deployed dog catchers to impound hounds ahead of Modi’s visit, which begins on Friday.

Many of Colombo’s strays are beloved by their adopted neighborhoods despite lacking formal owners—and are dubbed “community” canines rather than street dogs. Around a dozen protesters from the Rally for Animal Rights and Environment (RARE) waved placards outside President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s office in Colombo after submitting a petition to India’s high commission. “Stop the cruel removal of our community dogs,” one placard read.

Protesters said that many of the dogs in public parks had been vaccinated and neutered and were cared for by locals and animal welfare groups. “How can Sri Lanka promote tourism when we are a country known for animal cruelty?” another placard read.

Protesters urged New Delhi’s intervention to “prevent the cruel and unnecessary removal of these dogs”, saying that the round-up of dogs would create “displacement, suffering, and potential harm”.

Modi is set to receive an official welcome at Colombo’s Independence Square, where dog catchers are reported to have been busy in this week. He is also set to visit Anuradhapura, 200 kilometers (124 miles) north of the capital, to pay homage to a fig tree believed to have grown from a cutting from the tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment more than 2,500 years ago.

The tree is both an object of worship and a symbol of national sovereignty on the majority Buddhist island of 22 million people. — AFP