THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A meeting of the heads of district panchayats and municipal corporations convened by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy here on Tuesday decided to kill dangerous stray dogs.
Mr Chandy also advised the local bodies to prepare action plans to deal with the menace.
However, a section of animal lovers managed to enter the meeting venue and voiced their concerns to the chief minister about the killing of stray dogs. This even led to minor confusion as the authorities were not aware of the presence of animal lovers at the meeting.
The chief minister told the meeting that there were provisions in the law to kill stray dogs that pose a danger to the people. The local bodies could judiciously enforce these laws.
The heads of many local bodies expressed concern that killing stray dogs could invite the wrath from various quarters.
The animal husbandry department officials said that they could set up animal-birth-control (ABC) facility at 50 places immediately and 500 more in due course. The local bodies were asked to identify the spots for the facility.
Mr Chandy also advised the local bodies to evolve an action plan for controlling stray dogs.
The action plans of Kottayam, Ernakulam and Kollam were found to be effective and hence those could be set as models. The services of NGOs should also be sought to eliminate the menace.
Agriculture Minister K. P. Mohanan, Panchayat Minister M. K. Muneer and Urban Affairs Minister Manjalamkuzhi Ali were also present.
