Several animal lovers are spearheading an online campaign against the mass culling of stray dogs in Kerala.
With the hashtag #BoycottKerala, the users say that they will boycott Kerala as a tourism location and also stop using Kerala-based products, as a mark of protest.
Over the last few days, several posts on Facebook have been made on these lines.
On Friday, The Times of India reports that as part of the online campaign, e-mails were sent out to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
The e-mails which were mostly sent from Pune, Mumbai and Kolkata, threatened to boycott Kerala as a tourist destination, the report say.
In their e-mails, many pointed out that “the state had become the most dangerous place for a tourist who is an animal lover” and that the “barbaric act” will only stop if its tourism prospects get affected.
However, saying that such a campaign is indeed not in the interest of the state’s prospects, Tourism Minister AC Moideen told TOI that the government has decided to examine the matter.
Calling the campaign “a deliberate attempt by vested interests,” the minister added,
“It is not being done in good taste. The two incidents of culling reported were only people's natural reaction when the stray dogs attacked and killed the citizens. But the government will definitely examine the matter since any damage to the state's image would affect its tourism prospects.”