Culling of dogs: SC to consider plea

Petition says Kerala’s move violates an earlier order of the apex court.

In a recent hearing, the Supreme Court had asked the Kerala government whether measures could be taken to collect stray dogs in one place and sterilise them as per the law.

The Supreme Court has agreed to consider a plea against mass culling of stray dogs in Kerala.

A Bench led by Justice Dipak Misra tagged the plea made by advocate Anupam Tripathi that the culling of stray dogs in the State was in violation of the Supreme Court’s order that these canines should be sterilised and not killed.

Grave threat

The plea follows an exchange of correspondence between civil rights advocate Prashant Bhushan and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan about incidents of stray dogs being killed.

In that order, the apex court had taken note of the stray dog menace as a grave threat to the lives of human beings in Delhi and Kerala, but it directed the State authorities to immediately take steps to vaccinate or sterilise stray dogs under the supervision of the Animal Welfare Board of India to control their population. .

No official move

The Bench had acknowledged arguments made by senior advocate Dushyant Dave and advocate V.K. Biju that the safety of human beings was jeopardised, yet the authorities showed no inclination to combat the menace due to lack of funds or apathy.

“We direct that dogs be sterilised or vaccinated; the procedure shall be carried out in accordance with the law and no organisation shall create any kind of obstacle or impediment in the same. It shall be the obligation of the Board to oversee that this is being carried out and no obstructions are created from any quarter,” the Supreme Court had observed.

In a recent hearing, the Supreme Court had asked the Kerala government whether measures could be taken to collect stray dogs in one place and sterilise them as per the law.