Dear Ninad,
Re:- your message no.17 in Karmayog Digest 433
Date: Thu, 11 Aug 2005
Although I am fully sympathetic towards your problems, there are a couple of things I would like to point out.
Firstly, as far as stray dogs are concerned, please be informed that for the removal of stray dogs from their territories, there are specific laws, rules and guidelines set down by the Animal Birth Control ( Dogs ) Rules, 2001, by the Union Govt, and also a judgement on this subject in Writ Petition No1596 of 1998 by the Hon’ble Bombay High Court. Vide the above reffered judgement, the High Court has laid down guidelines for dealing with stray dogs and the methodology for their population control. Dogs cannot be labelled as nuisance and therefore be picked up from their territories and abandoned somewhere else. The only way to deal with them is to have them sterilised and vaccinated, then released in their original territory. As far as the
legal status of the judgement is concerned, the order of the Bombay High Court is final and as the Writ runs through the entire state, it is binding all over Maharashtra. Any contravention to the above amounts to contempt of court and is bad in law.
Secondly, there is a local organisation in Mira Road called SPAN, you may contact them on 28112462 and ask them to get the dogs sterilised, vaccinated and treated. If you cannot get in touch with them, call me on 9322271966 and I will have the dogs sterilised and vaccinated.
I will also advise you on humane ways of tackling the dogs that have made your building their shelter. However please understand a couple of facts. It is not just dog excreta that is causing problems after floods, this was a natural calamity and everything out of proportion will seem to cause problems, which is unavoidable but can be solved with a cool head.
Leptospirosis is not spread by dogs alone, but mostly by infected rat urine, skin infections are very common after floods in all species, and in dogs it can be treated very succesfully. I would ask you not to fear Leptospirosis as it is easily preventable, but there are
other diseases like dengue, malaria, gastro and skin afflictions which are if not more, but as much scary. Leptospirosis is only one ofthe much hyped dangers at the moment.
I am sure SPAN will help you to solve your problem, otherwise do not
hesitate to call me. Do not fret and panic, this is the smallest of problems that people are facing today as aftermath of the floods, so lets thank God for the small mercies.
For Thane Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Thane SPCA)
Shakuntala Majumdar thanespca@hotmail.com