The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday directed Tiruchi district administration to file a status report on a public interest litigation petition that sought a direction to the authorities to carry out sterilisation of stray dogs, vaccinate them against rabies and provide them proper shelter with food and drinking water.
A Division Bench of Justices Pushpa Sathyanarayana and P. Velmurugan sought a report from the authorities on a petition filed by P. Kannaiyan, a retired police officer from Tiruchi, who claimed to be an animal lover actively involved in the welfare of stray dogs.
The petitioner said the stray dog population was growing rapidly due to lack of effective monitoring. Vaccination of stray dogs was also very low. Unvaccinated stray dogs among the human population were major contributors to rabies, he said.
During rains, the stray dogs suffered a lot without food and proper shelter. They were also subjected to cruelty, the petitioner said. Stray dogs should be protected and provided a safe environment. Monitoring committees, comprising members of animal welfare organisations and animal lovers, should be formed in this regard, he said.
Sterilisation of stray dogs in Tiruchi should be carried out under the monitoring of the committee, they should be vaccinated against rabies and provided proper shelter, food and drinking water, the petitioner said.
