The State government shall ask local authorities to issue public notices asking owners of animals to register the ownership of the animals and obtain licence, the Kerala High Court directed on Wednesday.
A Division Bench of Justice A. K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice P. Gopinath issued the order while considering a case related to the recent killing of a pet dog in Thiruvananthapuram.
The government can prescribe the forms of licences and fix a fee for the registration/licensing procedure. The registration/licensing of all such animals shall be completed within six months. In future, the animal owners shall register their animals with the local authority concerned within three months of acquiring them, the court directed.
The court asked the Director General of Prosecution to inquire into a report that there were attempts to pressurise the owners of the deceased dog to withdraw the complaint.
The State government shall explore the possibility of adopting the public-private partnership model for setting up animal shelters and allied infrastructure, as mandated by the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act. The government could make use of the facilities currently maintained by the various animal welfare organisations in the State, by offering them financial and infrastructural support, the court ordered.
The court directed the State government to ensure that posters put up in public locations, including the various government institutions, veterinary hospitals, and panchayat/municipality offices directing the pet owners to deny food and water to community dogs are removed.
