Stray Dog Menace Continues To Haunt Kerala, 8 More Attacked

Three days after a 65-year-old woman was mauled by 15 stray dogs in Thiruvananthapuram, another shocker comes from Palakkad where 8 people were bit & injured by the dogs.

The eight people attacked by the stray dogs sustained major hand and leg injuries.

Following these two major incidents of stray dogs injuring people within a week, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has called a meeting of concerned departments in the state capital to look into the issue.

Before the CM's meeting, the Thiruvananthapuram council will also hold a meet to discuss the menace that needs immediate attention.

It was on Friday night that the 65-year-old woman, Sheeluamma, was killed by 15 stray dogs at a sea shore near the state secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram. She suffered dog bites all over her body and succumbed to injuries on her way to hospital.

The dogs also attacked the local people who tried to rescue the woman by chasing them away. Sheeluamma's son Selvan, who was also attacked by the dogs while trying to rescue his mother, escaped by jumping into the sea.

The district administration has promised to act against the menace, but there is no clarity over the strategy to control stray dogs. Reports say the state human rights commission has directed Kerala Govt to compensate dog bite victims.

Congress MLA K Muraleedharan slammed the state government saying it is the responsibility of the state government to protect its people and that the Supreme Court has already directed that the life of a human being is more important than that of a stray dog.

"If the dog is mad (ill), the only solution is to kill it," added Muraleedharan.

Meanwhile the anger over the stray dog menace is spilling into the political domain too .The website of an animal welfare organization linked to Union Minister Menaka Gandhi was hacked by a group that's demanding culling of stray dogs.

The hackers demanded a 'stray-dog-free' India and put up screen shots of newspaper clippings of the death of 65-year-old woman in Thiruvananthapuram after she was mauled by stray dogs.

In view of the latest incidents, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday assured that necessary steps would be taken to end such canine attacks.

The former district collector Biju Prabhakar, however, had something more to say. He blamed it on the NGOs saying that the NGOs protecting the stray dogs are getting bribes from anti-rabies vaccine companies.

"We are seeing such incidents because of vested interest" said Prabhakar. "And country's leading lawyers are representing these NGOs in Supreme Court." added the ex collector.

"If these people are very serious about killing of any kind of animal, they should extend this kind of privilege to all the other animals which are being culled."

The section 11 of prevention towards cruelty says that nothing of this shall prevent a stray dog from being destructed in lethal chambers, asserted Biju Prabhakar blaming the NGOs for the growing menace.