Kerala High Court Directs Corporations To Erect Signposts At Locations Designated As Feeding Spaces For Community Dogs

The Kerala High Court on Wednesday directed the Municipalities in the State to erect signposts at the locations designated for feeding points for community dogs and provide details of such locations to the SHO of the respective police stations that have jurisdiction over these areas.

A Division Bench of Justice A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Gopinath P. while issuing the aforementioned directive observing that this measure would ensure that members of the public who feed community dogs at the identified locations are not subjected to any harassment while doing so, and in the event of any such harassment, the police authorities concerned can respond to the complaint filed by such persons.

In the last hearing of the matter, the Court had directed the Corporations to designate certain areas as feeding spaces for community dogs.  

Responding to this, the Thrikkakara Municipality filed an affidavit giving details of the locations it had identified as feeding points within its territorial limits. It was after this that the Court issued the above direction to erect signposts.

The Court in one of its earlier hearings had directed the State to reconstitute a State Animal Welfare Board expeditiously. Additional Advocate General Ashok M. Cherian assured the Court that orders reconstituting the State Animal Welfare Board will be passed within two weeks. 

The Bench declared that while this reconstitution will be provisional and subject to modification once the statutory requirement regarding its constitution is clarified, the State is insisted to make suitable arrangements to ensure that the Board functions with an active web portal, pending identification of formal office premises, so that the general public can have access to the Board and its members in the immediate aftermath of its reconstitution. 

Dhyan Foundation and the Daya Foundation had informed the Court earlier that they have professional dog handlers at their facilities. Taking note of this fact, the Court ordered these Foundations to depute their trained dog handlers to Thrikkakara Municipality and transport the community dogs roaming therein to animal shelters where they can be subjected to Animal Birth Control procedures performed by qualified veterinary surgeons.

However, it was emphasized that the said community dogs shall, after being subjected to the birth control procedures, be duly vaccinated against rabies and other infectious diseases, rested, and then taken back and freed at the very same location from where they were picked up. 

The Municipality further was directed to render all assistance to the said foundations in carrying out the aforesaid exercise, including deputing suitable personnel to identify the locations that are frequented by community dogs. The expenses incurred by the Foundations in this regard shall be reimbursed by the Municipality, after the statement of expenses submitted by the Foundations has been certified as reasonable by this court.

It was also brought to the attention of the Court that an animal shelter owned by the Kochi Corporation was currently lying unutilized. Thereby, the Secretary of the Kochi Corporation was directed to immediately take steps to open the animal shelter facility for use by the Dhyan and Daya Foundations for the purposes specified in this order.

The Court reiterated its earlier directions that all Corporations shall immediately take steps to register/license pet dogs within their respective territorial limits.  

The matter has been posted for 3rd September for further hearing. 

Case Title: PFA v. State of Kerala

Click Here To Read The Order