Kerala dumps Maneka, decides to go ahead with culling of strays

The row between Kerala government and Centre over the stray dog menace took a new turn with state minister for Local Self-Governance and Minorities Welfare K T Jaleel stating that the state will go ahead with its decision to eliminate dangerous strays.  He was responding to a statement of Union Minister Maneka Gandhi who questioned the state’s decision to cull wandering canines.

   

Gandhi had said that culling was a wrong means and the state should to initiate measures for sterilization of dogs instead. "All other states have adopted sterilization as the best means to contain strays," she said.

The Union Minister told Asianet News that instead of finding a solution for the problem, the state government was trying to paint her as a fundamentalist of some sort. 

"There are strict laws against the culling of dogs. Street dogs are posing a threat to human life in Kerala owing to various factors. The state has failed to manage waste effectively. The unscientific breeding method is yet another reason. The state is not implementing sterilization (of strays) effectively," she said. 

 

 Centre and Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) are ready to give more money to Kerala government for implementing sterilization, the minister said. "Delhi has proven that sterilization is the most effective method. A decision to cull dogs is in violation of the decisions of Supreme Court and various High Courts," Gandhi said.

The minister also denied reports that she had not commented that the woman, who was attacked and killed by stray dogs, was carrying meat. "What I said was in many cases people carrying meat was attacked by street dogs," she said. 

Supreme Court lawyer and activist Prashant Bhushan wrote to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan that he would move Supreme Court if the state decided to proceed with culling of stray dogs. Earlier AWBI had taken strong exception to the state’s move pointing out that it went against the existing laws.  

The state government took the decision to kill dangerous strays after a 65-year-old woman was mauled to death by a pack of 50 dogs near Pulluvila beach in the state capital, on 19 August. On 22 August, a middle-aged man, who was bitten by a rabid stray dog succumbed to injuries in Kottarakkara. Following this, several incidents of stray dog attacks were reported from across the state. These incidents sparked off heated debated in the state and people began demanding mass culling of strays.