Kerala stray-dog menace; Supreme Court to listen to on September 9

The Supreme Court on September 5 agreed to list urgently, on September 9, a plea to require stock of Kerala government's measures, if any, to leash stray dog menace within the State.

Making an oral mentioning before magistrate of India U. U. Lalit, advocate V. K. Biju said school children, daily wagers and girls bear the brunt of the menace. A 12-year-old victim, he said, was struggling for her life. "Kerala has become dogs' own country," Mr. Biju submitted.

The lawyer asked the court to summon the most recent status report of a committee headed by former Kerala court judge, Justice S. Srijagan, which was formed by the apex court in 2016 to listen to dog-bite victims, check the gravity of their injuries and keep an eagle eye over the available treatment and facilities for them. He said the State has seen 10 lakh stray dog attacks within the past five years.

The Kerala government had, in an affidavit in 2018, said that treating dog bites within the State was actually free and government hospitals didn't charge the victims. The State had informed that money for payment of dog-bite compensations go from the local self-government bodies’ coffers.

Besides, the State had grudged how “animal lovers” shot down its novel idea to own “stray dog parks” in every district.