Plant & Animals Welfare Society-Mumbai (PAWS) and Amma Care Foundation — a Mira Road-based NGO has written a letter to Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) asking for separate quarantine centres where they should provide care for pet animals and birds if their owners test positive for COVID-19.

Sunish Subramanian, founder of PAWS said, "Most of the COVID-19 patients are keeping their pets into lodges where they end up paying rent of Rs 600-Rs 1,000 per day while some prefer foster homes. However, several NGOs have complained that the COVID-19 owners don't take back their pets even after they are released from quarantine centres or hospital." "So the state's Animal Husbandry Department should intervene in such matters to take such pets under their wing and arrange for their food, water, shelter and health services till their owners are fit enough to take care of themselves," he added.