Fresh instructions to restart ABC initiative amid rise in stray attacks
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the ABC programme coming to a grinding halt following the Supreme Courts recent directions, the state government has issued fresh instructions amid rising stray dog attack incidents, clarifying that the lack of animal shelters cannot be cited as a reason to stop sterilisation and vaccination drives. After the Supreme Court order of November 7, the local bodies across the state had suspended vaccination and sterilisation drives, as the direction was to move the dogs to shelters. A recent letter to the director of the Animal Husbandry Department from the government clarifies that the Supreme Courts order of November 7 mandated the local bodies to remove stray dogs from sensitive public spaces - schools, hospitals, sports complexes, bus stands, inter-state terminals and railway stations - and shift them to designated shelters after sterilisation and vaccination as per the Animal Birth Control Rules 2017. The government pointed out that the courts restriction on releasing dogs back to the same locations applies only to animals caught from these institutional premises. Routine ABC operations in public areas outside these zones should therefore continue without interruption. Until permanent shelters are established, Local Self-Government Institutions (LSGIs) have been instructed to relocate such dogs to suitable alternative locations. At present the state has around 19 ABC centres. Till September 30, this financial year, as many as 9,737 stray dogs have been sterilised and 53,401 stray dogs have been vaccinated. Following fresh directions from the government, the Animal Husbandry Department and the Local Self-Government Department (LSGD) have finally launched operations of the states first-ever portable Animal Birth Control (ABC) unit at Nedumangad. The portable unit was launched on a pilot basis to overcome resistance to static ABC centres. However, the rollout comes at a time when the state is grappling with the implications of the Supreme Courts recent directive restricting the release of sterilised stray dogs back to their original locations. We launched the operations of the portable ABC unit from December 5. The Nedumangad municipality has set aside funds to sterilise around 400 stray dogs, and after this target is completed we will move the portable ABC unit to another local body, said a senior official of the Animal Husbandry Department. However, the local bodies are struggling to undertake vaccination and sterilisation drives after the Supreme Court order. People are protesting while we attempt to release the dogs in the same location from where they were caught, said an official of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation.
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