KOCHI/NEW DELHI : The Supreme Court on Friday orally observed that a solution to Kerala’s stray dog menace has to be found at the earliest and remarked that those who feed the street dogs could be made responsible for vaccinating them.
A bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and J K Maheshwari, which was hearing a batch of petitions concerning the stray dog menace in Kerala, also suggested that those who feed the street dogs should also bear the costs if somebody is attacked by a stray. The SC said an interim order would be pronounced on September 28.
The bench also sought a status report from Justice Siri Jagan Commission, which was constituted by the apex court in 2016 to deal with complaints regarding dog bites and to determine the compensation for victims.
“A solution has to be found... What I had thought was that the people who feed dogs should be allowed to do so, they can keep a number or marking on the dog and they will be responsible for vaccinating them and bearing the cost if a person is attacked,” observed Justice Khanna.
The SC’s observations come after around one lakh people have suffered stray dog bites while 21 rabies deaths have been reported this year so far. Of the 21 who died, five had received anti-rabies vaccines.
On Monday, Abhirami, a 12-year-old-girl from Ranni, who was undergoing treatment after she was bitten by a stray dog, died at Kottayam Medical College Hospital.
The SC bench was hearing a batch of appeals filed by the Animal Welfare Board of India and other parties against a 2015 judgment of the Kerala High Court that permitted capturing and killing stray dogs.