MALAPPURAM: Minister for Local Self-Government M B Rajesh on Wednesday said the Centre’s ‘impractical’ laws had impeded the state government’s efforts to control the stray dog population in Kerala. “The provisions in the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, after their revision in 2023, have come in the way of sterilisation and immunisation of stray dogs in the state,” the minister told reporters in Malappuram.
The new provisions have made the project recognition certificate issued by the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) mandatory for opening ABC centres.
Moreover, only a veterinary doctor who has performed more than 2,000 surgeries should perform the sterilisation, say the rules, which also mandate that visuals of the sterilisation process be recorded and archived for 30 days. Pre-operative and post-operative care, along with isolation wards, facilities to store organs and incinerators have also been made prerequisites. The revised rules even ban sterilisation of dogs aged below six years, a move which has drawn criticism.
Rajesh said despite having to follow some very tough rules, the state government is trying hard to carry out sterilisation and immunisation of stray dogs.
“Between September 1, 2022 and June 11, 2023, we vaccinated around 4,70,354 dogs,” Rajesh said. Meanwhile, the government will move the High Court seeking to lift the ban imposed by the AWBI on Kudumbashree for carrying out sterilisation of stray canines. Until its ban as the implementing agency last year, Kudumbashree had sterilised around 79,426 dogs between 2017 and 2022.
Rajesh said the government was considering the possibility to euthanise stray dogs by invoking Section 133 F of CrPC (It is a condition order to remove nuisance).
In the wake of recent developments, including the death of a 11-year-old boy in Kannur in a stray dog attack, the government will set up ABC centres in all local body offices on a war footing using `10.36 crore allotted for the purpose.