Even when veterinary officials are confused about the practicality and legality of the State Government’s decision to cull ‘ferocious’ stray dogs by using lethal injections, Kerala local Administration Minister KT Jaleel on Friday reiterated the Government’s resolve to go ahead with the plan.
Rejecting Union Minister Maneka Gandhi’s warning that killing dogs would not solve the problem Kerala was facing, Jaleel said that the Government was firm about its decision to “deal with ferocious dogs in the required manner”. However, it did not want to get into a confrontation with the Centre over the matter, he said.
“It all starts with love for human beings. How can those with no love for humans love animalsIJ let there be love for humans first and let love for animals bloom from that,” Jaleel said. He admitted that there had been failures in the drive for sterilising dogs and that the Government had not been able to act systematically in this regard.
The CPI(M)-led lDF Government in the State had taken the decision to kill ferocious stray dogs and also to implement the animal birth control programme to contain the dog menace in the wake of the public pressure that followed the death of a 65-year-old woman in an attack by a large pack of dogs on a beach in Pulluvila near Thiruvananthapuram on the night of August 19 .
Minister Jaleel’s assertion of the Government decision to kill ferocious stray dogs came in response to Maneka Gandhi’s advice that the State should systematically implement the programme for sterilizing stray dogs instead of killing them, which according to her was illegal and impractical. “They will achieve nothing by demonizing me. Killing the dogs is not going to solve the problem Kerala is facing. It will only complicate it. The effective way is to sterilize dogs as per the guidelines. I am not saying this. This is what the WHO is saying. There are also court orders in this regard,” she told the Kerala media in Delhi.
According to Maneka Gandhi, Kerala should utilize effectively the funds provided by the Centre for sterilizing dogs like Haryana had done. “The Central Health Ministry and the Animal Welfare Board of India had given funds to the State for this purpose. What happened to that moneyIJ We don’t know,” she said.
State BJP general secretary K Surendran also differed with the Union Minister’s view. “What will we do with rabid dogsIJ They will have to be killed. The State Government has to fulfill its duty in this regard,” Surendran said even as State Congress president VM Sudheeran said that the Government should the issue with all political parties.
Though the State Government is firm about its plan to kill stray dogs, the veterinary officials say that they are confused about its practicality and legality. Sources in the Kerala Government Veterinary Officers’ Association said that they were not prepared to do anything that went against the existing laws.
“The Government decision is that ferocious stray dogs could be killed using injections. But how are you going to identify a ferocious dogIJ” asked a senior veterinary doctor from Kochi. “There are clear guidelines regarding measures for controlling dog menace. The laws simply don’t permit killing. Violation of guidelines and laws could invite serious trouble,” he said.
Though the Government is planning to start the sterilization drive on September 1, the required arrangements have not been made so far, according to veterinary officials. It would be difficult to implement the programme using the veterinary doctors currently in service alone, they said.