Prashant Bhushan cautions Kerala CM against culling

The apex court had ordered sterilisation of stray dogs as per the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and not culling.

Civil rights advocate Prashant Bhushan has written to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, warning the State of inviting Supreme Court's contempt action by culling stray dogs. File photo

Civil rights advocate Prashant Bhushan has written to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, warning the State of inviting Supreme Court's contempt action by culling stray dogs.

The apex court had ordered sterilisation of stray dogs as per the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and not culling. Mr. Bhushan said the case was still pending in the apex court and mass culling of dogs would affect the State's image as a tourism hot-spot.

“What is perturbing are the statements made by two of your Ministers — Dr. K.T. Jaleel, local self-government Minister and K. Raju, Animal Husbandry Minister. It has been widely reported in the media that they plan to bring lethal injections to kill dogs... I would like to humbly submit that this would be tantamount to contempt of the Supreme Court and we do not wish to move for contempt,” Mr. Bhushan wrote to the Chief Minister.

The letter refers to a March 2016 order of a Supreme Court Bench led by Justice Dipak Misra which found that the real problem is the implementation of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and municipal laws.

‘Balance needed’

Justice Misra had observed that it is necessary to see that “compassion to animals and the healthy existence of human beings are seemly balanced.”

“Yes, the people of Kerala are having a tough time with stray dogs. We agree with you there is a problem. The only thing we are saying is that the solution to this problem is sterilisation and not killing,” Mr. Bhushan wrote in his letter signed also as co-founder of Swaraj Abhiyan.

The letter refers to how the Bombay Municipal Corporation in January 2014 acknowledged that “killing is no solution and sterilisation programme is the answer”.

The letter brings to the attention of Mr. Vijayan the Kochi Corporation's Animal Birth Control Programme for Dogs (ABCD), which is “leading the way in sterilisation programme.”

“As per reports — the doctor in the programme said that 76 per cent of the bites are from pets and not strays and in Kochi, out of 2,000 sterilised dogs only two were found to be rabid,” the letter dated August 27 said.

Mr. Bhushan is likely to move the Supreme Court on August 29 against culling in the State.