HYDERABAD: Though the constitution of the three-tier monitoring committees -- State, district, and municipality level -- is required for the birth control of stray dogs under The Animal Birth Control (Dogs) (ABCD) Rules, 2001, is one such state which doesn’t have a functional committees at the ground level.
The committee is empowered to authorise the veterinary doctor to decide on a case-to-case basis the need to euthanise critically ill or fatally injured or rabid dogs.In spite of the animal rights activists and officials bringing forward the ABCD rules whenever there is a discourse over animal rights, the authorities are conspicuously failing to implement the rules made in the same document.
As per Rule 4 of ABCD, a monitoring committee should consist of a commissioner or head of the civic body, a representative from the Public Health Department and Animal Welfare Department, a veterinary doctor, a representative of the district Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), at least two representatives from the locally operating animal welfare organizations, and a representative with experience in animal welfare in the locality.
The committee formed as per Rule 4 of ABCD shall be responsible for planning and management of the dog control programme in accordance with these rules. It is also responsible for issuing instructions for catching, transporting, sheltering, sterilising, vaccinating, treatment and freeing sterilised/vaccinated or treated dogs.
In addition, the committee is also responsible for creating public awareness, soliciting cooperation and funding, providing guidelines to pet dog owners, and commercial breeders, and conducting a survey on the number of street dogs. Essentially, the committee has to take steps for monitoring the dog-bite cases to ascertain the reasons for such cases, and the area where it took place and whether it was from a stray or pet dog.
TNIE has contacted multiple municipal commissioners on whether their respective municipalities have any such committees and all of them admitted that there is no such committee. In October last year, the Animal Welfare Board of India expressed concern in this regard in a letter addressed to the chief secretaries and heads of police of the states and UTs.
Meanwhile, when contacted, the Director of the Veterinary & Animal Husbandry Department Dr S Ramchander said that Telangana has a state-level committee under the chairmanship of the Animal Husbandry Minister, and every district has a monitoring committee.“A lot of work is being done in Telangana unlike any other State in the country,” said Ramchander.
However, animal rights activist Srilakshmi Bhupal disputed the claims of officials stating that there are no functional monitoring committees and which is why the incidents like dogs mauling children are repeatedly occurring.
Truths and untruths