T’puram: The city corporation has begun implementing a multi-pronged strategy to tackle the stray dog menace, with a new shelter home near Kattakada already becoming operational and preliminary steps being taken to identify designated feeding spots in the city.The new shelter, which is the first among the additional facilities being developed as part of the corporation’s revised stray dog management strategy, currently accommodates around 150 stray dogs. The civic body is also working on expanding the shelter network to provide separate facilities for dogs that are aggressive, injured or require special care.The move comes at a time when the state govt has issued detailed guidelines for local bodies on the identification and management of designated feeding spots for stray and community dogs. The guidelines, prepared by the animal husbandry department following a meeting chaired by the local self-govt minister on July 23, seek to balance animal welfare with public health and safety.Corporation health standing committee chairperson M R Gopan said the civic body was proceeding with a structured approach instead of relying solely on sterilisation and vaccination to address the stray dog issue.The corporation has initiated preliminary work to identify suitable feeding spots in accordance with the new state guidelines. The guidelines stipulate that local bodies should identify specific low-footfall locations where caregivers can feed stray dogs, thereby reducing confrontations with the public and street-level aggression.Under the proposed procedure, anyone seeking to feed stray or community dogs will have to submit an application to the corporation secretary. The application will then be forwarded within seven working days to a seven-member panel for inspection and site evaluation. The committee can approve the proposed location, recommend an alternative site or reject the application on valid grounds.Once a feeding location is approved, the caregiver will be issued an official identity card specifying the designated location and permitted feeding hours. The guidelines prescribe feeding between 5am and 6am in the morning and 10pm and 11pm in the evening.The guidelines also require caregivers to maintain hygiene at feeding locations, use suitable bowls or containers, and ensure that no food waste or litter is left behind. Feeding spots should be located away from children’s play areas, busy public footpaths, and the main entry and exit gates of residences. Caregivers are also expected to cooperate with authorities for sterilisation under animal birth control programme and anti-rabies vaccination.Chief veterinary surgeon of the city corporation Dr Sreerag Jayan said the identification of feeding spots would help bring greater regulation and scientific management to feeding practices.The state guidelines also lay down a separate procedure for dealing with violent or vicious stray dogs, as well as incurably ill or mortally wounded animals. An eight-member local authorisation panel comprising representatives of the local body, the animal husbandry, the health, the police, the state animal welfare board and SPCA will assess such cases.A complaint regarding an unprovoked bite has to be submitted in writing, following which the dog can be captured by trained personnel and shifted to a recognised shelter or ABC centre for isolation and evaluation. Euthanasia can be carried out only after certification by the committee and prior written approval from the district collector.The corporation’s latest initiatives are aimed at creating a decentralised system combining sheltering, feeding regulation, sterilisation, vaccination and scientific handling of problem animals, while keeping public safety as a key consideration.
