[Stray Dogs] Victims of dog bites to get free treatment in Government hospitals: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court on Friday directed Government hospitalsto provide free medical care for victims of dog bites as well as necessary free vaccines, until state machinery is established to deal with the burgeoning stray dog issue in the State.[In Re: Bruno (Suo Motu) Public Interest Litigation].A division bench of Justices AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and Gopinath P also directed that the dogs which are suspected to be rabid be tranquilized and contained.However, the court made it clear that the free medical care would be lifted once the government formulates a plan and executes the same to curb the issue. The court noted that pursuant to its previous order, the State Police had issued Circular urging citizens not to take the law into their own hands by poisoning or killing stray dogs.The court also said that animal shelters have to be set up and that it would focus on this specific aspect in the next hearing. In the earlier order, the court had directed the State government to file a report on the steps it intends to take, including for identifying, containing and removing aggressive dogs from public places.In order to monitor the implementation of its directives, the Court said it would conduct weekly hearings for as long as it is required..Advocate Vikram Chandravanshi of the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) raised certain concerns regarding the attitude of the citizenry to which the the Court said that the order passed by the State government is a comprehensive which addresses the concerns for the time being.When asked about Kudumbashree’s application to the AWBI seeking permission to conduct animal birth control (ABC) procedures, the counsel submitted that the matter will be looked into and the needful will be done expeditiously..The Court issued the orders on a suo motu case public interest litigation (PIL) it had initiated in July, 2021 regarding animal cruelty based on the news reports about the alleged cruel and inhuman killing of Bruno, a pet labrador dog, by three minors on the Adimalathura beach in Thiruvananthapuram.The Court later saw it fit to rename the case as “In Re: Bruno (Suo Moto Public Interest Litigation Proceedings initiated by the High Court in the matter of executive and legislative inaction of the State Government in the matter of Protection of Animal Rights)”..Since reports of dog attacks in the state started increasing along with media coverage of some tragic attacks which led to human and animal fatalities, the bench has been convening regularly to discuss the situation. .[Read Order]