Uniform central guidelines expose chronic shortcomings after years of lax ABC implementation by civic bodies
MARGAO
Municipal and local bodies in the State may no longer have any excuse for deficiencies in implementing the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme in their respective areas.
For, the Animal Welfare Board of India has issued a comprehensive set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), in compliance with Supreme Court directions, for preventing dog-bite incidents and managing free-roaming dogs on institutional premises. These SOPs must be uniformly adopted across all States and Union Territories within four weeks.
If the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) has shown little or no concern for assessing the condition of the dog shelter at Sonsodo — set up and managed by a local animal welfare NGO a decade and a half ago — let alone creating adequate space for sheltering stray dogs, the latest SOPs now place clear responsibility on municipal and local bodies to make the necessary provisions for shelters.
The SOPs outline detailed guidelines mandating municipal and local authorities to care for strays within their jurisdiction — from establishing spacious shelters to ensuring feeding, upkeep, and deploying dedicated manpower for their welfare.
The SOPs also place responsibility on the management of educational institutions, both government and private, as well as bus stands, railway stations, and hospitals, to secure their premises with proper fencing, boundary walls, gates, or any other infrastructure necessary to prevent stray dogs from entering their grounds.
Infra for shelters
For sheltering stray dogs, the shelters shall be constructed keeping in mind minimal infrastructure, including fencing with at least six feet height; provision for veterinary care, watering and feeding arrangements, and an open area with demarcation so that an entire pack of dogs is kept at one place.
Dedicated personnel
An important provision in the SOP is that the local bodies are mandated to man the shelters with dedicated personnel. This includes a watchman to man the shelter 24 hours, a cleaner as per need, and a caretaker for feeding and other management activities round the clock depending on the number of dogs in the shelters.
The provision on dedicated personnel assumes significance given that the municipal and local bodies have been found wanting in appointing dedicated personnel to man the shelters.
Sterilisation and vaccination
The jurisdictional municipal corporation or local bodies, as the case may be, after removing dogs, shall ensure all the dogs have been sterilised before putting them in the shelter. In this regard, if the sterilisation centre is not available, they may take the help of the local veterinary hospitals under the administrative control of the Animal Husbandry Department or take the help of civil societies, organisations, or trusts volunteering for the sterilisation programme. Sterilisation and capture methods must comply with the Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023, and the Revised Animal Birth Control Module, 2025.
The concerned authorities should also focus on the pack of dogs surrounding the areas. In order to restrict the entry of dogs into the areas and control their population, the pack of dogs, more particularly male dogs, should be sterilised on priority along with puppies after the age of six months. The sterilised dogs, after their recovery, shall be vaccinated against rabies.
Once the dogs have been sterilised and vaccinated, they shall be sent to shelters either established by the municipality or private trusts, societies, organisations, gaushalas, or pinjrapoles that have the facility to keep dogs for the remaining period of their life.
Removal of dogs from public institutions
All the State governments and union territories shall, through their respective local/municipal authorities/district authorities, identify all government and private educational institutions, hospitals (including district hospitals, primary health centres, and medical colleges), public sports complexes or stadia, bus stands/depots, and railway stations.
Once the areas are identified by the respective municipal authorities, the concerned management shall ensure that stray dogs do not enter the area. The concerned management is also responsible for securing the institution by adequate fencing, boundary walls, gates, or any other infrastructure to avoid the entry of stray dogs within the area.
In cases of educational institutions, hospitals, sports complexes, tourist sites, religious places, airports, helipads, seaports, and recreational spots, the concerned management shall identify a nodal officer, whose responsibility will be to ensure that no stray dog enters or inhabits within the premises of the area, and proper waste management is carried out in and around the area.
