Sakina Tashrifwala
Published on: September 24, 2022 at 18:51 IST
According to the decision issued on September 9, the expert committee headed by retired Kerala High Court judge Justice S Siri Jagan has submitted its report to the Supreme Court regarding the stray dog problem in Kerala.
In its report, the committee made reference to an increase in stray dog bites each year.
The Committee, which also included Sri. V. Hari Nair, the Government of Kerala’s Law Secretary, and Smt. (Dr.) P.P. Preetha, the Director of Health Services-in-Charge, declared,
“Not only media reports, but also visual verification on the streets also points to an exponential increase in the stray dog population in the State of Kerala.”
“The number of reported dog bite victims who have sought care in institutions under the Health Services Department has also shown a steady increase over the past several years.”
Animal birth control programmes must be implemented properly in order to minimise the current dog population.
The committee added that, “the critical situation prevailing in Kerala, involving stray dog nuisance in the streets, would not have been this serious if the ABC Programme (Animal Birth Control Programme) and efficient waste management had been effectively implemented from 2001 onward.”
“The Committee believes that even if the ABC Program is implemented in full force right once, its impact on the streets won’t be felt for roughly 3 to 4 years.”
“According to the Rules, stray dogs participating in the ABC Program must be released in the same neighbourhood where they were initially captured. As a result, the ABC Program alone won’t be enough to lower the current number of stray dogs in the streets.”
“Therefore, unless the number of stray dogs on the street is rapidly decreased to a manageable level, the people would continue to suffer stray dog bites in the streets, even if the ABC Programme is implemented in earnest right away.”
“Finding a way to get the number of stray dogs in the streets under control is therefore essential. To enable the local authorities to successfully implement the ABC Program, the authorities must also act immediately to train a sufficient number of dog catchers.”
“It is imperative to find some method to reduce the number of stray dogs in the streets to a manageable level. So also, the authorities should take immediate steps to train sufficient number of dog catchers to enable the local authorities to effectively implement the ABC Programme”, the report added.
The committee added a recommendation to the list of recommendations made in its earlier report from the first of October 2016 by making the following references:
a) In view of the very grave situation prevailing in the State on account of the stray dog menace, in order to safeguard the interests of the people of the State and to protect the people from the dangers caused by stray dogs, it is imperative to find some means for the immediate reduction of the stray dog population in the State to a manageable level, on a war footing, failing which the people are likely to take law into their own hands and start culling of dogs by themselves, which has already begun in some places openly under the leadership of members of local authorities and other social activists. Simultaneously, the ABC programmes are also to be implemented by all local authorities in full swing, in right earnest.
b) Implement the other recommendations of the Committee in the preliminary report dated 25-6-2016, which are:
(i) To make available Anti-Rabies Vaccine (ARV) and Human Rabies Immunoglobulin (HRIG) in all Public Health Institutions in the State.
(ii) To properly train Medical Officers/Staff Nurses on management of animal bite cases.
(iii) Proper Waste Management by all local authorities by employing modern scientific methods. Licensing for slaughter houses, hotels, restaurants and similar establishments should be compulsory and should be subject to availability of scientific waste management methods and facilities.
(iv) Control, vaccination and sterilisation of Stray Dogs with identification tab, to identify that the animal has been vaccinated and sterilised.
(v) Licensing of domesticated animals with proper vaccination against Rabies and identification tab to identify that the animal is licensed to the person to whom the licence is issued.
(vi) Sufficient number of dog catchers must be trained and deployed throughout the state of Kerala to cater to the need of all the Panchayats and Municipalities in the State for the effective implementation of the ABC Rules.
The report of the Committee also noted other initiatives being undertaken, such as the Government of India’s creation of the “National Action Plan for Dog Mediated Rabies Elimination from India by 2030” (NAPRE), which aims to prevent, control, and ultimately eradicate rabies in India.
Additionally, it made reference to an offer from an NGO to act as a nodal agency for the sterilising and vaccination of stray dogs across Kerala, without payment or any other commitment from the government.
The report also made mention of the difficulty the Committee Chairman was having running the Committee’s business for the Court’s consideration.
Dog Bite Statistics
The study also included a table illustrating how the number of instances has increased, indicating that in 2017, the number of dog bite cases was 1,35,749, which increased to 1,48,899 in 2018, 1,61,055 in 2019, 1,60,483 in 2020, 2,21,379 in 2021, and 1,96,552 as of August 2022.
The report also included a district-by-district breakdown of dog bites reported in 2022.
The report also included statistical information on the number of recorded Rabies deaths in the state over the previous nine years. It contains data till September 16th, 2022. The report also released information about rabies deaths that occurred this year, adding that,
“There are 11 adult males, 7 adult females, and 3 children among the 21 deaths reported this year. Twelve of these cases have been confirmed by laboratory tests, and nine have been diagnosed based on characteristic clinical signs and epidemiological links.”
“Six of these people had received post-exposure prophylaxis with vaccine and anti-rabies serum, however one of them had missed a scheduled vaccine dose. The remaining 15 people either ignored the wound or did not report being bitten by an animal, thus they did not receive post-exposure prophylaxis.”
“All of these people who died despite post-exposure prophylaxis had serious category III wounds on their face, lips, eye lids, neck, ear, and hands, which are considered high-risk locations.”
The report provided a breakdown of the total number of rabies deaths in Kerala by district from 2012 to September 16th, 2022, and stated that, “The quantity of vaccines and immunoglobulins used for post-exposure prophylaxis distributed by Kerala Medical Services Corporation Limited has also increased.
When compared to the previous year, Rabies vaccine consumption (IDRV) increased by 57% in 2021-22. During the same time span, usage of Equine Rabies Immunoglobulin (ERIG) increased by 109%.”
Compensation claims are disproportionate to dog bite events, and people’s ignorance could be the cause
The report informs the Court that the number of claims received is negligibly disproportionate to the total number of dog bites reported in the State, which may be due to people’s ignorance of the Committee’s facility for obtaining compensation, or an incorrect understanding of the procedure adopted by the Committee, which people may believe is similar to that used in a court of law in compensation suits.
The report further stated that reports on 881 claims had been forwarded to the Honourable Supreme Court of India and the Government of Kerala.
The Government has issued directives requiring the concerned Panchayat/Municipality to pay the amount determined by the Committee in 749 applications.
According to the study, the overall number of stray dogs in the 2019 livestock census is 2,89,986, an increase of only 20,992 over the 2016 census.
According to the Committee Report, the committee has reason to suspect the census’s accuracy because the growth in stray dog population is not comparable to the increase in stray dog bites and the consumption of vaccinations and immunoglobulins used for post-exposure prophylaxis in the state.
As a result, the committee requested that the authorities reconsider the procedures used for the stray dog census.
The matter will be heard by the Supreme Court on September 28.