Dog that entered stadium during IPL match 'kicked', activists condemn 'unsportsmanlike' act

New Delhi: Animal rights activists condemned the “kicking and punching” of a dog who inadvertently entered a cricket stadium during an IPL match.

A purported video of the incident that happened on Sunday in Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium during a match between Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians surfaced online.

The video shows a dog being chased by several people, including the security personnel deployed, as the dog attempts to swerve to avoid them. The incident drew a sharp reaction from animal rights activists.

PETA India, in a statement, said it strongly condemns the "reprehensible and 100 per cent unsportsmanlike act of chasing, kicking, and punching a lost and confused dog who inadvertently entered the stadium, likely afraid."

"The dog might have felt compelled to react in self-defence due to the repeated kicking by every individual [it] encountered, including a police officer, and being punched and knocked down by a man, as depicted in the video," read the NGO's statement.

The animal rights group said such treatment not only inflicts cruelty upon the innocent dog but also heightens the risk of a tragic incident.

Those involved should suffer penalties, if not arrest, it said. It also demanded that stadium authorities must immediately adopt humane methods of dealing with such situations.

"Furthermore, we call upon both the stadium and police authorities to take cognisance of this video, ensuring that such deplorable actions by members of the public, stadium staff, and law enforcement officials are prevented from occurring in the future," it said.

Keren Nazareth, senior director, Companion Animal and Engagement, Humane Society International/India said this was not the first time a dog entered a cricket or football stadium.

"The dog was clearly scared and in a crowd with so many adults, not one was able to calmly deal with the situation. There should be some training for the field staff on how to be able to humanely remove dogs from such a situation so as not to harm the dog or anyone else," she said.

"We could definitely learn from some football matches where dogs have had a field day! The fact that we have lived by them for thousands of years, it is only fair that we start being more serious about understanding their behaviour and compassionately finding solutions," she added.