Bringing relief to some cats and its master, the Kerala High Court has allowed permission for the master to travel to buy food for his cats.
Kochi native N Prakash approached the court after the police denied him permission to travel to a pet hospital several kilometres away from his house to buy seven kilogram Meo-Persian biscuits for his three cats. Since he is vegetarian, he could not cook non-vegetarian food at home and hence the cats were used to this biscuit, the petitioner maintained.
Kerala Additional Advocate General Ranjith Thampan stated that animal feed and fodder were listed as essential items during the lockdown period and hence self-declaration of the owner was enough for him to get permission to travel. The court also referred to the legal obligations of people to see welfare of animals.
In lighter vein, the bench comprising justice AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and justice Shaji P Chaly said in the judgment that while the court was happy to have come to the aid of the felines in this case, the court was also certain that its directions will help avert a “CATastrophe” in the petitioner’s home.