Dogs Are Not Ferocious By Nature, They Are Made So By Circumstances: Kerala High Court Remarks While Directing Action To Rehabilitate Community Dogs

The Kerala High Court on Monday while hearing a matter of stray dogs being poisoned to death in Thrikkakara Municipality of the State, remarked that dogs are not dangerous by nature and that they are made so by circumstances. 

A Division Bench of Justice AK Jayakrishnan Nambiar and Justice P Gopinath responded so when the counsel for the Municipality submitted that it has been receiving frequent complaints about the community dogs posing a threat to its residents. 

As such, the Court declared that killing or maiming such canines were not feasible solutions to tackle the problem faced by the residents. Instead, the Municipality was directed to identify private persons or organizations within its local jurisdiction who are keen on preserving animal welfare and to submit the same before the Court by the next posting date. 

"But at the end of the day, you should realize that the obligation to keep the peace of the community by containing the stray dogs is with the Municipality. So try to strike a balance between the interest of the residents as well as that of the dogs," the Court observed. 

Advocate Hariraj Madhav Rajendran submitted that there was an organization in the jurisdiction working for animal welfare that has international recognition. they only have 12 cents currently, and have been attempting to acquire more land. 

This development ensued in a matter where over 100 dogs were found poisoned to death and dumped in a waste yard in the State. The Junior Health Inspector was accused of paying for the poison that killed the dogs and he had recently moved the Court for anticipatory bail. 

 Additional AG Ashok Cherian appearing for the State was directed to collect the details of all animal shelters across the State and make a district-wise report of shelters managed by the State as well as private organizations. 

Advocate Uma Devi added that her client DAYA may be able to accommodate these stray dogs from the Thrikkakara Municipality. She submitted that the organization has trained persons to catch dogs professionally and to rescue them. However, she was not aware of how many dogs they can accommodate, therefore, was asked by the Court to file a report in this regard. 

The matter will be taken up again on August 6th. 

While dealing with In Re Bruno matter, the Court was presented with a report on the reconstitution of the State Animal Welfare Board. Senior Advocate Ramesh Babu submitted that the apex committee has 20 members as per the proposal and that the State had taken the reference from the Karnataka model. 

The Court directed that it was important to make sure that they constitute a functional committee rather than form one for the sake of it.