T.N. govt. to discuss methods to control stray dog population

The Tamil Nadu government will hold meetings with officials of the Municipal Administration and Water Supply (MAWS) and Animal Husbandry Departments over the stray dog problem in the State and come up with methods besides animal birth control to check their rising population.

The Tamil Nadu government will hold meetings with officials of the Municipal Administration and Water Supply (MAWS) and Animal Husbandry Departments over the stray dog problem in the State and come up with methods besides animal birth control to check their rising population.

Amid growing concerns, Health and Family Welfare Minister Ma. Subramanian said a meeting with the departments would be conducted after the State’s Budget presentation.

According to officials of the Public Health Department of the GCC, over 17,000 dog bite cases — involving both domestic and community dogs — are reported every year.

GCC Ward 152 councillor S. Bharathi said it had been nearly two years since the last anti-rabies vaccination drive for stray dogs was conducted. “They scavenge through garbage, scattering waste and posing a health hazard for residents. This issue will be raised again in the upcoming council meeting,” she added.

Further, A. Krishnan, a resident of East Tambaram, alleged that packs of ferocious dogs were often seen chasing locals, especially at night. “Instead of discharging the animals back to the areas after animal birth control, they must be impounded,” he said. Impounding is a process of confining dogs to a public enclosure.

Both GCC and Tambaram Corporation authorities, however, said permanent sheltering of stray dogs could not be taken up due to certain provisions under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules 2023. They noted that even if civic bodies were allowed to impound them, there could be heavy backlash from animal lovers and rights activists.

Citing urbanisation as the cause for a lack of spaces for animals to wander, a volunteerof an animal shelter, said that just as humans wanted their fears and concerns respected, those of animals too must be considered. “People were not against stray animals on the streets previously. Around 50-60 years ago, when Koyambedu had several green and open spaces, people and animals coexisted.”