Founder and CEO Of Ayesha Chundrigar Foundation aka ACF Animal Rescue, Ayesha Chundrigar shared a letter of clarification she received which was written as well as signed by Taimur Ali Mirza whose father had been attacked by two pet dogs earlier in June. The attack case between the injured party and the pet owner Humanyun Khan, son of Noor Khan resulted in the eventual forgiveness of the pet owner under certain compromise agreements. A mention of ACF Animal Rescue was made in the official compromise agreement which was agreed upon by both parties involved without the knowledge of ACF itself. As the news has circulated all over social media, Chundrigar and the foundation addressed the matter at hand through several posts on their platforms.
On the morning of 16th June 2021, Mirza Akbar Ali was brutally attacked by two pet dogs who were left out on the street without supervision. Since then, a case has been built between the two parties involved which recently reached a final agreement as the victim of the case decided to forgive the pet owner under a compromise agreement. Within that agreement was a request for both pet dogs to be euthanized as they had attacked several other passers-by, who were left with horrific injuries as well as trauma. Since it was acknowledged by both parties as well as the competent court of law that both canines were beyond corrective behavioral treatment, the decision had reached a final conclusion. Despite the efforts of the attacked party to get the dogs to a proper space for retraining, no one was able to give assurance that they would be able to prevent the dogs from harming anyone in the future. The final point in the agreement notice was a mention of ACF Animal Rescue.
Since then, several outside parties took to social media to share their concerns about the euthanization as well as the donation which was made in ACF Animal Rescue’s name. As the conversation started trending a letter was shared with Ayesha Chundrigar by Taimur Ali Mirza, son of Mirza Akbar Ali which stated the following words:
“I would also like to clear any ambiguity as regards to what gave rise to the donation of 1,000,000 to ACF Animal Rescue. The donation was decided to be given to ACF Animal Rescue without consulting or informing you. The first time you came to know of the donation was when I messaged to inform you that such a donation had been made to your organization. The simple reason for the donation is to help those animals who are in need and distressed. It is something which felt right to do in the present circumstances.
In hindsight, I realize that the donation has caused much pain and trouble for you as people are incorrectly blaming your organization for having recommended euthanizing the dogs and the donation being blood money. For the pain and trouble that has been caused to you and your organization, I truly and humbly apologize. It was never my intention to hinder the good work your organization is doing nor to tarnish its reputation. I understand that you would be in the right to return the donation and I cannot stop you from doing so. However, I implore you to reconsider and use the donation to help distressed and in need animals so at least some good can come out of what all has happened.”
In response to the allegations made by people on social media and the ongoing cyberbullying which has come out of the matters at hand, Chundrigar stated, “The donation of Rs 10 lakhs was given to ACF without ACF’s knowledge as part of a legal settlement between 2 parties. We were informed after it was sent. ACF has NO involvement in the case and we are horrified at how we are being accused of being “criminally silent” or “suspiciously quiet”. We have been harassed, bullied, and accused of being ‘murderers’ when we were not even privy to the outcome of this case. After everything that we do for animals, and it is right there in front of you, we are shocked that people would treat us this way for something we are not even a part of and spin stories on social media that can hurt and tarnish the reputation of the first animal rescue service that started this work for the protection of animals, to begin with, 8 years ago. This is a level of bullying that is bizarre.”
Ayesha Chundrigar and ACF Animal Rescue strongly condemn dog culling and have fought against it for a long time. They recurrently put their best efforts into helping as many animals as they can. In an effort to educate the masses through empathic education they continue to work tirelessly to protect, rehabilitate and safeguard as many animals as possible. Chundrigar has recently put all her efforts into several initiatives including their Mobile Van Clinic, the Empress Market Medical Camp, and multiple other rescue projects small and large scale.
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