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SRINAGAR: A camel seized by Srinagar authorities on suspicion it would be slaughtered ahead of Eid al-Adha in May has become the centre of a legal dispute, with the owner alleging unlawful confiscation and saying it was not meant to be killed but was purchased for rides and photos at a tourist resort.The camel is now the most unusual denizen at Srinagar’s Municipal Corporation’s (SMC) veterinary complex in Tengpora area, jostling for space with 300 animals, including a cow, two donkeys, dogs and 60 cats, among them Persian cats abandoned by owners. Nearly everyone who walks through the gates stops to look at the one-humped animal and asks how the two-year-old ended up there.Dawood Ahmad Shah is a big reason why the camel is where it is. The animal rights activist spotted a social media post indicating the camel would be slaughtered on Eid. Shah, who runs Animal Rescue Kashmir, said he alerted officials and said their intervention led to its “rescue” from Budgam, around 30km from Srinagar.“Camel slaughter has long been taking place in Kashmir. This year, several videos surfaced. We filed complaints with SMC. Raids were conducted at several places. We were able to rescue only one camel from Khan Sahab area of Budgam,” Shah said.Ghulam Rasool Bhat, the camel’s owner, contests the claims and demands that SMC return it to him. According to Bhat, he had purchased the camel from a dealer in Jammu for Rs 1.2 lakh, borrowing much of the sum. He said he planned to keep it at Budgam’s Doodhpathri tourist resort, where it would be used for taking visitors on rides and taking photos with them.“It took us time initially to understand who had taken it. Then the police said they had seized it. Now it is with SMC. We have now moved court seeking the camel’s release. The court has sought reports from the police and SMC but they have not done so yet,” Bhat said.While Shah maintains that camels are routinely brought to Kashmir for slaughter and calls for legal protections like those in Rajasthan, Bhat insists he never intended to kill the animal. “We are surprised the animal was taken away from us. Is bringing a camel to Kashmir prohibited? If camels can be kept in Jammu, why not here?” Bhat asked.
