MADURAI: Advising the state to give serious attention to the problem of stray dog menace, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Friday told some advocates to come up with a strategy to tackle the issue in an effective way. The court also suggested engaging volunteers from resident welfare associations and bar associations to meet the manpower demand.
It further instructed the government counsel to take the matter to the notice of the chief secretary for taking further decisions. Noting that the director of animal husbandry and secretary of Animal Welfare Board are yet to file a counter affidavit despite being added to the case months ago, the court directed them to file the same before the next hearing.
The observations were made by a bench comprising Chief Justice KR Shriram and Justice V Lakshminarayanan while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by an advocate R Balaji seeking direction to eradicate stray dog menace in Madurai city.
During the hearing, the Madurai corporation informed the court that it is planning to conduct a stray dog census from March 2025 and that the same would be completed in five months. The corporation, along with an NGO named Worldwide Veterinary Service, also organised periodical animal birth control surgery camps for community feeder dogs and pet dogs, and nearly 550 dogs have been sterilised so far, it added.
To expedite the process, the government has to allot sufficient funds for conducting Animal Birth Control (ABC) and Anti-Rabies Programmes and increasing the number of ABC centres in the corporation limits, it further said. The case was adjourned to March 7.