AP Moots PPP for Building, Maintaining Stray Cattle Shelters

The decision follows Supreme Court’s strong observations recently on stopping cattle from straying onto national / state highways and relocating stray dogs to dog shelters. The apex court has cautioned states that they could be made to pay compensation to victims for stray dog bites and consequent health hazards.

According to the AP government’s plan, state animal husbandry authorities will develop the infrastructure for shelters to accommodate stray cattle using funds of the urban local bodies and gram panchayats. The government plans to rope in private parties under the PPP mode for day-to-day maintenance of the shelters.

Stray cattle will be removed from public roads and accommodated in these shelters. Fodder and water will be made available for the cattle’s care and protection.

Herds of cattle on roads are a common site across the state. Majority of the time, they are almost sitting in the middle of the roads on both national and state highways.

Speeding vehicles face a major hazard if their driver / rider fails to notice the presence of cattle in time. Pedestrians also face trouble with these cattle. There have been several instances where people have suffered injuries due to stray cattle.

A section of farmers / dairy owners deliberately let their cattle stray and feed along the roads. However, towards the evening, they milk them and make money. When civic authorities catch them and shift them to shelter zones, they will get the cattle back using their political clout or pay a fine, only to put them back on roads.

With the apex court turning serious about the stray cattle menace, state authorities are planning a permanent solution.

Animal husbandry director Dr. T. Damodar Naidu said, “Once we develop stray cattle shelters in urban local bodies and gram panchayats, we plan to entrust their maintenance to private parties under PPP mode, so that cattle could be prevented from straying on the roads.”

With regard to dealing with stray dogs, authorities are seeking community support to relocate them to dog shelters, administer anti-rabies vaccine (ARV) and take up animal birth control (ABC).
Authorities are critical of activists fighting for animal rights but not extending their support in a holistic manner to deal with the issue.

As the apex court has asked that stray dogs be removed from public institutions like educational institutions, hospitals, and railway and bus stations, authorities have asked these institutions to alert their civic authorities concerned for the removal of strays, instead of ignoring the issue.

This would help establish a safe environment, especially for vulnerable children, women and aged from dog bites.

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Animal rights activists want all stakeholder departments and NGOs to play a proactive role in dealing with stray cattle and dogs.

Supreme Court will hear the stray dogs and cattle issue again on January 20.

AP has an estimated stray dog population of over two lakh. Authorities say though ABC and ARV are in progress, rapid proliferation of dogs is continuing, with puppies seen in streets.

Animal husbandry authorities say staff and funds’ crunch is hampering their efforts to deal with strays.

Packs of stray dogs have been attacking and killing young sheep and goats in makeshift shelters of farmers.