Kerala Child rights panel asks SC to euthanise dangerous stray dogs

The Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has filed a plea in the Supreme Court for a direction to the state authorities to captivate and euthanise rabid dogs and extremely dangerous ones in permissible mode after the rise of stray dog attacks.

The panel also sought a direction to the state authorities to take strict actions against irresponsible abandonment, as it received numerous complaints about the nuisance of stray dogs and the plight of children, fatally bitten by them.

In an intervention application in a pending matter, the Commission said that it is pertinent to mention that 5794 stray dogs attacks were reported in 2019, 3951 cases in 2020, 7927 cases in 2021, 11776 cases were reported in 2022 and 6276 cases are reported upto June 19, 2023.

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Following the death of Nihal, 11 -year-old autistic child on June 11, 2023 at Kannur, repeated attacks from stray dogs is being reported. The report stated that stary dogs are different from domesticated dogs and have the potential to become dangerous and attack.

The panel said due to various reasons, the incidents of dog bite are increasing and causing serious threat to the life of children.

The Commission suggested, "A confined facilities or culling of stray dogs can reduce the risk of such incidents to an extend. Stray dogs can carry diseases that can be transmitted to humans, such as rabies. Confined facilities stray dogs can help to control the spread of such disease."

It pointed out in 2019, Lok Sabha was told that the stray dog population went down by 18 lakhs in seven years from 1.71 crores to 1.53 crores. However, some independent studies suggest the population is much higher as many go unaccounted for. Globally, dog-mediated rabies causes an estimated 59,000, human deaths annually.

According to WHO, India accounts for 36 per cent of the global deaths due to rabies. India also accounts for 65 per cent of the deaths due to rabies in the South-East Asia region. The National Rabies Control Program reported 6644 clinically suspected cases and deaths of human rabies between 2012 and 2022. According to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases, almost 96 per cent of rabies cases in India are caused by stray dogs -and so India leads the world in rabies deaths.