Centre asks states, municipal bodies to keep check on rising dog bite cases
The new animal birth control rules 2023, which update similar rules framed in 2001, lay down steps to sterilise animals and regulate their population
The Centre has directed the states to deal with the growing stray dog bite cases under a set of new rules notified in March 2023 under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act 1960, which provides for measures to check animal population, an official familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
On April 17, a 65-year-old man died after being attacked by a pack of dogs in a park on the Aligarh Muslim University campus in Uttar Pradesh, the latest among several similar cases of stray canines biting people. According to experts, children are especially vulnerable to such attacks.
The new animal birth control rules 2023, which update similar rules framed in 2001, lay down steps to sterilise animals and regulate their population in a manner that complies with various orders by the Supreme Court, according to the official quoted above.
There is no official data on the size of stray animals in the country, but recent cases especially the ones involving children being fatally wounded by stray dogs have riveted attention to a largely unaddressed problem. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), India is endemic to rabies and accounts for 36% of worldwide deaths from the infection spread by animal bites, including from rodents.
The new rules comply with guidelines of the Supreme Court in a 2009 case between the Animal Welfare Board of India, a body under the Union department of animal husbandry, and an NGO People for Elimination of Stray Troubles. The court had prohibited relocation of stray dogs.
The NGO had moved the top court in 2009, seeking orders to restrain stray dogs in which the Animal Welfare Board was made a party. The case led to a set of verdicts on how to address the issue of stray dogs.
The rules also outline the methods and practices to be followed for sterilization and immunisation of stray dogs. According to these norms, the responsibility of carrying out these measures, without inflicting cruelty to animals, falls on municipalities in urban areas and panchayats in rural parts of a state.
The norms require birth control and anti-rabies drives to be carried out simultaneously for greater efficacy. They also contain guidelines on how to deal with the human and stray dog conflicts.
One of the key requirements under the rules is that the population control needs to be carried out by organisations recognised by the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI). The list of such outfits will be made soon made available on the website of the AWBI, according to the official.
