The Thrikkakara Municipality, which was recently mired in a controversy over the killing of an unspecified number of stray dogs in the municipal area, has offered to find space for feeding strays. Municipal chairperson Ajitha Thankappan said on Tuesday that the municipality submitted before the Kerala High Court that suitable space would be found for feeding stray dogs.
The municipality had five spaces in mind as feeding grounds for strays, the municipal chairperson said even as she reiterated that the municipal authorities had not authorised the alleged killing of the dogs. The chairperson said that the municipality would go ahead with action in keeping with the court directive.
The Daya Animal Welfare Organisation in Muvattupuzha has said it is willing to provide its expertise to contain the dog population even as it is estimated that the stray population in the municipality is around 1,000. Animal rights activists had blamed the municipal authorities for allegedly authorising the killing of strays after 25 dog carcasses were found in a municipal waste dumping ground last month.
The Organisation has said it will help handle dogs that need to be sterilised as part of the animal birth control (ABC) programme.
The Indian Veterinary Association Kerala has also said it could take up animal birth control programme in the State after the High Court barred local self-governments from transferring funds to the Kudumbashree mission, which had earlier been engaged by the State to carry out the ABC programme.
A count of strays in 2018 estimated that there were around 8 lakh stray dogs in the State. Animal welfare activists say the number could have increased to about a million by now.
