Blue Cross now has 24x7 WhatsApp helpline for animal rescue operations

The initiative called Click to Rescue (C2R) saw 100 WhatsApp messages being sent in, over the last one week since it was set up.

The WhatsApp message is to be sent to 9962998886 with a photo and current location of the animal, with the name and address of the sender. Mohanakannan, Joint Secretary, Blue Cross of India, Chennai said, “We receive 150-175 calls per day on our three landlines and it takes about 10 minutes to attend to each call. The lines tend to remain engaged for many minutes together. A WhatsApp message can help people submit a rescue report immediately, without any wait times.” The peak time is usually 10 am to 2 pm and we get about 50 requests per day on the WhatsApp channel. “We prioritise our rescues based on the severity of the animal’s distress. We have a team working round the clock, manning this channel and we have four ambulances that can get attend to the animal,” he added. The WhatsApp helpline can be accessed online as well, via the Blue Cross’ website, he said. While the field of operations is currently limited to Greater Chennai, Mohanakannan said that their team has gone as far as Arakkonam and Vellore to carry out high priority rescues.

Apart from the rescue operations, Blue Cross is also strengthening its youth connect across the city. Mohanakannan said, “We are working with DAV School on a model of site visit where students get to see and interact with the animals in close range at the shelter. We are also talking to PSBB to conduct bimonthly visits to schools to carry out awareness and sensitisation programmes.”