Rajasthan becomes 'first' state to implement Supreme Court's order on stray dogs

Jaipur, Aug 27 (IANS) Following the Supreme Court's directive on stray dogs, the Rajasthan government has taken the "lead" in managing the animals more systematically.

The Department of Autonomous Governance has issued strict instructions to all municipal corporations, councils, and municipalities, making compliance with the Stray Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules 2023 mandatory.

Under this, feeding points for dogs will now be marked in every ward and locality, with urban bodies directed to coordinate with resident welfare associations and animal welfare organisations.

Even in cases of rabies, arrangements for food and water will be ensured at these feeding spots.

Ravi Jain, Secretary, Local Self Government Department, said, "Rajasthan is the first state in the country to issue such comprehensive orders balancing public safety and animal welfare after the Supreme Court's decision."

All municipal bodies will have to send their compliance reports to the state government within 30 days.

According to the order, sterilisation, rabies vaccination, and deworming centres will be established in every city.

Stray dogs will be treated, sterilised, tagged, and then released in the same locality.

To ensure transparency, CCTV cameras will be installed in operating theatres and ABC centres.

Only trained teams will be authorised to catch dogs, either with nets or by hand, and no dog below six months of age will be sterilised.

The government has also directed the formation of monitoring committees in every city comprising NGO members and animal welfare workers, who will regularly review the process.

Keeping records of sterilisation, vaccination, deaths, and feeding will be mandatory.

According to the Animal Welfare Board of India, Rs 200 has been fixed for catching each dog and Rs 1,450 for sterilisation, food, and post-operation care.

Last week, the Supreme Court stressed that "a blanket direction to pick up all the strays and place them in dog shelters/pounds without evaluating the existing infrastructure may lead to a catch-22 situation because such directions may be impossible to comply with".

It said that sterilised, dewormed, and vaccinated dogs should be released back to their original localities, in line with the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023.

--IANS

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