THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Despite the alarming increase in stray dog attacks across the state, local self-government institutions and the Animal Husbandry department have failed to intensify crucial vaccination and sterilisation drives for effective management of the canines on the street. In recent months, multiple incidents of stray dog attacks were reported across the state, while unauthorised killings of street dogs have also increased, raising concerns over the escalating human-dog conflict.
In a shocking incident on Tuesday, several stray dogs were found dead from suspected poisoning in Ambalapuzha in Alappuzha district, which highlights the growing violence against animals and the apathy and failure of state agencies to address the issue effectively.
As per data, there are 2.89 lakh stray dogs and 8.3 lakh domestic dogs in the state. In the first half of this year, LSGIs and the Animal Husbandry department managed to vaccinate only 8,102 stray dogs. Besides this, around 8,654 sterilisation surgeries were conducted during the same period.
State animal welfare board member Maria Jacob said the only way to ride over the stray dog crisis was to allow proper feeding of street dogs. “People, the police and the community have turned hostile towards people feeding animals. We have a very good network of feeders and our system has failed to utilise them for catching the dogs. The dog feeders are getting harassed and the government has failed to utilise them for stray dog management,” said Maria Jacob.
The plans to ramp up infrastructure for stray dog management is also lagging. As per official data, around 15 ABC centres are under construction, while five more are in the proposal stage. The slow pace of these initiatives raises questions about the commitment of the authorities to tackle the growing man-dog conflict in a scientific manner. Lack of funds, shelters, resistance from the public against projects are some of the reasons for the delay in the execution of various projects.
“Our department can only facilitate the sterilisation and vaccination drives and care and management of the animals is the responsibility of the local bodies. This is not a one-time process and joint efforts are needed,” said S Nandakumar, assistant director (planning), Animal Husbandry department.
Animal rights activists feel that the welfare of stray dogs is not being prioritised by the state government and the agencies responsible. The state is yet to constitute the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). According to former member of state animal welfare board M N Jayachandran, SPCAs have not been constituted after 2013. “There is an ongoing dispute over the organisational structure of SPCAs and the High Court has ruled against the move of the state government to make the district panchayat president the chairman of SPCA. As per the Centre norms, the district collector should be the chairman,” said M N Jayachandran.