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The Supreme Court on Wednesday expressed concern over the increasing number of dog bite incidents in the country and said that authorities have failed to implement the Animal Birth Control (ABC) rules.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria said, "We are conscious that these things are happening. Children, adults are getting bitten, people are dying." The bench also noted that in the past 20 days, two judges had met with accidents caused by stray animals on highways, and one judge is in serious condition. "One of the judges is still suffering from spinal injuries. It's a very serious issue," the bench added. The apex court today heard detailed arguments in the suo motu case initiated by it on the issue of stray dogs in public places. The hearing in the case will continue on Thursday. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for one of the petitioners advocating animal rights, argued that the removal of dogs from their present places is not a solution to the problem. He said, "People feed dogs in the place that they are. They won't go to shelter homes. Removal won't work." Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that Residential Welfare Associations (RWA) of gated communities should decide by voting whether to allow stray animals, particularly dogs, inside their areas. "When we say animal lovers, animals include all animals and not just dogs. Whether I want to keep a dog in my house or not has to be my discretion. Whether dogs should be roaming around in my gated community, it would be essential for that small community to decide that. Where 90% residents feel that it would be disastrous,s and 10 per cent insist that dogs remain... Somebody may bring buffaloes and say I am an animal lover. There may be difficulties for other members," Mehta said. Senior advocates KK Venugopal, Colin Gonsalves, Anand Grover, CU Singh and others argued before the bench today. On November 7, the three-judge bench, while taking into consideration the "alarming rise of dog bite incidents", ordered all states and Union Territories (UTs) to ensure the removal of all stray dogs from every educational institution, hospital, public sports complexes, bus stands, railway stations, etc. It said all these institutions and places must be fenced properly to prevent the entry of stray dogs. The stray dogs should not be released to the same spot from which they were picked up, ordered the bench. It had also said that permitting their return would "frustrate the very purpose" of securing such premises and addressing public safety concerns. It will be the responsibility of the concerned local government institutions to pick up stray dogs from such institutions/areas, and shift them to designated dog shelters after vaccination and sterilisation in accordance with the Animal Birth Control Rules, the apex court had ordered. The apex court order had come on a suo moto cognisance it took of the menace of stray dogs across the country. (ANI)
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