THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Dog attacks go up drastically in Kerala and so do cases of cruelty to strays. Ever since the state government moved the Supreme Court seeking permission to cull dangerous and aggressive dogs, incidents of mass poisoning and killing of dogs are on the rise in the state. Animal rights activists blame police inaction and lack of enforcement as the reasons. In a brutal incident, a dog lost an eye after being attacked near Kumarapuram in the capital. According to animal rights activists, stray dogs are also being run over deliberately by drivers in large numbers.
“The dog was brutally attacked in Kumarapuram with a stick and its eye was popping out. We rescued the animal. The doctors had to remove the eye and the dog is recuperating in our shelter right now. We couldn’t trace the person who committed the brutality,” State Animal Welfare Board member and People For Animal (PFA) trustee Maria Jacob.
Animal rights activists are clamouring for a more stringent law. “The Prevention of Cruelty Against Animals Act needs to be amended. Those doing this cruelty should be punished rightly so that people won’t dare to do such things to any living creature,” said Maria, a State Animal Welfare Board member. It is learnt that an amendment of the Act, which came in 1960, is under consideration and pending for a long time.
A PFA official said they are receiving numerous calls on their helpline number.“As many as 18 FIRs have been registered in the capital in the past few weeks for the killing and abuse of stray dogs. The state government’s move seeking culling of dogs has sent a wrong message to the community, and people are poisoning and attacking strays. There is no action from the police and we have to run from pillar to post to attend to cases. The police are also very hostile towards those who complain about cruelty to dogs. They register cases only when they get calls from higher authorities,” said Sreedevi S Kartha, a PFA member.
“We are flooded with calls from pet owners and residents. Many want to give up their pets and want us to rehabilitate them. All this is happening because of the hate campaigns. We receive an average of 60 calls daily,” said Sreedevi.