14/10/2022
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DECLINES KERALA’S PLEA TO KILL RABID STRAY DOGS
The Supreme Court of India has turned down the plea of the local self-governments from Kerala seeking permission to kill stray dogs particularly those suspected of having contracted rabies. This is indeed a huge victory for India’s stray dogs!
Killing stray dog suspected of rabies is not allowed as per the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules, 2001 , the right process to deal with stray dogs suspected of rabies is as follow:
Furious or dumb rabid dogs :
(1) On the receipt of complaints from the public to the Dog Control Cell of the Local Authority or on its own, the dog squad of the Local Authority would catch such dogs, suspected to be rabid.
(2) The caught dog would then be taken to the pound where it would be isolated in an isolation ward.
(3)The suspected rabid dog would then be subjected to inspection by a panel of two persons i.e.
(i) a veterinary surgeon appointed by the Local Authority and
(ii) a representative from an Animal Welfare Organisation
(4)If the dog is found to have a high probability of having rabies it would be isolated till it dies a natural death. Death normally occurs within 10 days of contracting rabies. Premature killings of suspected rabid dogs therefore prevents the true incidence of rabies from being known and appropriate action being taken.
(5)If the dog is found not to have rabies but some other disease it would be handed over to the AWOs who will take the necessary action to cure and rehabilitate the dog.
The SC bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and JK Maheshwari stated that all individual cases of stray dog attacks must be transferred to the Kerala High Court. In addition, in February 2023 the bench will hear the policy matters on controlling the population of stray dogs in Kerala.
These decisions came after several stray dogs were brutally killed in Kerala due to cases of dog bites in the state, and the death of 21 people suspected to have died of rabies. 15 of these people had not taken the mandatory anti-rabies vaccines following a dog bite.
Follow updates regarding this case and the state’s proposed measures to resolve human-dog conflict on www.vosd.in