What Does Law Say About Stray Menace?

Stray menace is not a small problem and it is visible with the number of instances reported almost every day. The problem takes an ugly shape especially when those badly affected by it resort to seemingly cruel defence mechanisms and are charged for animal cruelty. Altogether, this cripples the overall liveability of a locality.

Last week protesters gathered under the banner of Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat alleging that the Agra Municipal Corporation had ignored the problem of strays altogether. The problems cited included unrestricted movement of stray animals, resultant traffic congestion and instances of people being bitten by stray dogs and monkeys. Previously it was mandated that all strays should be kept off city limits and cattle owners should be careful about the movement of their animals in order to escape strict action. However, not just Agra, most Indian cities are bearing the brunt of negligence by the civic authorities.

The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has said that by 2023, the veterinary department of the SDMC would help residents get rid of stray dog menace. The sterilisation process of these dogs is underway and in the next six years, the problem should be reduced by 80-90 per cent. Their data suggests that across Delhi, there are 1.14 lakh male dogs and 74,698 female dogs and while 40 per cent of the male dogs are sterilised, the number is only 28 per cent when it comes to females.

Meanwhile, P Narayana, Municipal Minister in Vijaywada met with the commissioners of 13 municipalities to chalk out a plan.

“The only solution to the stray dog menace is sterilisation as the court directed against harming the canines. We have completed 75 percent of sterilisation, the remaining will be done by April. The average life expectancy of dogs is nine years. So the sterilisation will help in controlling the population in the next few years.” He said.

Mysuru is also planning to go stray dog free. The Mysuru City Corporation is planning to launch an animal birth control and relocation initiative. At a cost of Rs 40 lakh, the corporation is also looking at a dedicated care-centre exclusively for stray dogs.

Well, the problem is so rampant that School of Earth and Environmental Sciences Ph.D. students and authors Christopher O'Bryan and Alexander Braczkowski said that “a small population of 35 leopards in Mumbai may consume about 1500 dogs per year, preventing around 1000 bite incidents, and 90 potential rabies cases.”

Braczkowski added, “Stray dogs are the leading cause of rabies deaths in India, killing 20,000 people per year, so if there's a natural predator in the landscape that can reduce that risk, it's worth investigating.”

What does the Supreme Court say

The apex court is against the indiscriminate slaughter of strays and makes sure that whenever there arises a need, it should be lawful. As per law, only rabies afflicted, incurably ill or mortally wounded dogs can be culled according to the Animal Birth Control Rules that was formulated in tandem with the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960.

How to complain about the menace?

The municipal corporation, municipal committees, district boards and local bodies in your town has the responsibility of looking into such problems and coming up with a solution. You can register a complaint online.

Other authorities like the Noida Authority also take care of such issues and you can put it an online complaint.

However, most of the times such complaints fall on deaf ears. You could also get in touch with animal protection organisations, there are plenty of them listed online that you can make use of.