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Stray Dog Turns Bright Blue After Swimming In Polluted River

Stray Dog Turns Bright Blue After Swimming In Polluted River

Industrial dye is thought to be the cause

Michael Minay

Michael Minay

At least five dogs have been spotted walking around Navi Mumbai, India, with bright blue fur after swimming in polluted water.

The stray animals are known to wander into the water to cool down and look for scraps of food - however, in doing so, they're coming out of the water a completely different colour.

Although it isn't known which chemicals could be directly responsible for the colour switch, authorities are blaming an industrial dye which is being pumped into the water.

See for yourself in the clip below:

Credit: Viral Press

Dye, which is used to make detergents, often goes straight into the water from the factories that lie close to the river.

Animal protection officer, Arati Chauhan, said: "It was shocking to see how the dog's white fur had turned completely blue.

"We have spotted almost five such dogs here and have asked the pollution control board to act against such industries.

A ruling by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) found that waste treatment nearby was 'inadequate', with the river water lacking oxygen and having overly high levels of toxic chloride.

Authorities are blaming an industrial dye which is being pumped into the water. Credit: Viral Press

Some places, such as at the Kasadi waterway in Western India, were almost 13 times higher in pollution than the guidelines for safe human consumption.

Yogesh Pagade, a local fisherman, added: "After numerous complaints to MPCB over the years, only the stretch as Kasadi has reduced. However, the pollution levels continue to be extremely high and dissolved oxygen is negligible."

An MPCB spokesman responded: "Allowing the discharge of dye into any water body is illegal. We will take action against the polluters as they are destroying the environment.

"We have directed our sub-regional officer to investigate."

Credit: Viral Press

A 2015 Indian government report found that more than half its rivers were polluted.

At the time, it was feared that freshwater for all uses would be near impossible to maintain.

However, with some of the country's rivers being known worldwide, such as the Ganges, the government was forced to introduce a large clean-up operation.

Featured Image Credit: Viral Press

Topics: Pollution, Dogs, India