Thiruvanathapuram: A group of demonstrators of Kerala Congress (PC Thomas) the other day brought stray dogs in crates to the secretariat with little idea that what they were doing was not supported by the law. Now, animal organisations have been left with the responsibility of undoing what they have done. Street Dog Watch, an organisation based in Kovalam, could identify two of the 22 dogs which were in the crates. Including these two dogs, there were six sterilised ones.
“All the dogs caught were friendly. We have photos showing us petting these dogs,” says Latha I, trustee of ‘People for Animals’ Thiruvananthapuram Chapter . The PFA will hand over the rest of the 20 dogs to Street Dog Watch to sterilise them. Now both PFA and SDW are trying to track the driver of the vehicle which brought the dogs. The catcher will be able to identify the exact points from where the dogs were caught, says Latha. The demonstrators, who wanted to drive home the idea that the state government was doing little to tackle the stray dog menace, had threatened to release the dogs in front of the corporation.
However, the ABC rules do not allow relocation of dogs. The dogs, caught in Kovalam-Vizhinjam area, should be released in the same spot from where they were caught. This is because dogs are territorial animals. When a dog is released in an unfamiliar territory, it will have to fight to find its place. This would lead to more aggression in the streets. Similarly, there will be a vacancy in the space where it originally belonged, and other dogs in the neighbouring area will fight for that space.
