The High Court of Karnataka on Wednesday directed the State government to give a wide publicity through various modes of communication to create awareness among the public on the ‘guidelines on feeding street animals and conflict resolution’, framed by the Karnataka Animal Welfare Board (KAWB).
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Prasanna B. Varale and Justice Krishna S. Dixit issued the direction after the State government, in response to the court’s direction issued on a PIL petition, submitted the guidelines framed by the KAWB in 2022 in addition to the instructions and circulars issued by the Urban Development Department (UDD) to various urban local authorities on managing street dogs and other stray animals.
Noticing that the guidelines mention that the points for feeding stray animals should be at places less frequented by the public to avoid conflict and hence suggests that there should be dedicated places for feeding stray animals, the Bench pointed out its earlier observation expressing concerned about feeding of stray dogs and birds at important locations of the city where large number of public visits.
