Nod for killing of strays ‘judiciously’

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A meeting of the heads of district panchayats and municipal corporations convened by Chief Minister  Oommen Chandy here on Tuesday decided to kill dangerous stray dogs.

Mr Chandy  also advised the local bodies to prepare action plans to deal with the  menace.

However,   a section of animal lovers managed to enter the meeting venue and voiced their concerns to the chief minister about the killing of stray dogs. This  even led to  minor confusion as the authorities were not aware of the presence of animal lovers at the  meeting.

The chief minister  told the meeting  that there were provisions in the law to kill stray dogs that pose a danger to the people.  The local bodies could judiciously enforce these laws.

The heads of many local bodies expressed concern that killing stray dogs could invite the wrath from various quarters.

The animal husbandry department officials said that they could set up animal-birth-control (ABC) facility at 50 places immediately and 500 more in due course. The local bodies were asked to identify the spots for the facility.

Mr Chandy  also advised the local bodies to evolve an action plan for controlling stray dogs.

The action plans of Kottayam, Ernakulam and Kollam were found to be effective and hence those could be set as models.  The services of NGOs should  also be sought to eliminate the menace.

Agriculture Minister K. P. Mohanan,  Panchayat Minister M. K. Muneer and Urban Affairs Minister Manjalamkuzhi Ali were also present.