Kerala to cull stray dogs

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 24: To tackle the stray dog menace in Kerala, the CPI(M)-led LDF government today said it would take steps to cull violent street dogs by injecting "special medicines".

Local Administration Minister K T Jaleel said his department's secretary has been authorised to issue orders to civic bodies for culling of violent street dogs by injecting "special medicines".

Steps in this regard would be taken on the basis of veterinarians' certificate. No case would be registered for killing dogs in this manner, Jaleel said. Civic bodies could use the plan fund for the purpose if they did not have enough resources, Jaleel said at a meet-the-press programme here. He admitted that a main reason for increase in the number of street dogs was the lack of proper disposal of civic waste.

The government would also consider a proposal to renew licences of hotels only if they set up waste management facilities, he said.

"We have to face the issue at any cost as the attacks of violent canines have increased in the state many folds," he said. The government would also implement various other programmes, including sterilisation and Animal birth control measure, to check the growth of street dogs, he added.

At a high-level meeting on Aug 22, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had directed officials to take urgent steps to check the street dog menace. The issue became a talking point in the state following the death of a 65-year-old woman after being attacked by a pack of dogs at coastal hamlet Pullivilla near here a few days ago.

According to a report submitted in the Supreme Court recently in a connected case, it was stated that more than one lakh people in Kerala have been bitten by dogs in 2015-16. The report also said there were about 2.5 lakh street dogs in the state.

PTI