The decision of the Kerala government to cull stray dogs may have attracted protests from animal lovers, but the BBMP is seeking legal advice to get a Supreme Court stay vacated.
The 2012 ruling by the High Court of Karnataka that dogs that are a menace or cause nuisance could be exterminated in a humane manner, has been stayed by the SC.
Today, BBMP follows the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules, 2001, and culls only dogs that are fatally injured, terminally ill, ferocious or rabid.
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BBMP sources said the civic body earlier had the power to cull dogs that were a menace or caused nuisance, irrespective of whether they have or not attacked anybody, under the Karnataka Municipal Corporations (KMC) Act, 1976. “We want to tread carefully as we do not want to take any action that violates the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960, and the ABC (Dogs) Rules, 2001,” a source said.