Stray dog euthanasia: Bengaluru civic bodies will have separate committees

Key points

• With the Supreme Court permitting municipal authorities to adopt legally permissible measures, including euthanasia in cases involving “rabid, incurably ill or demonstrably dangerous or aggressive dogs,” Bengaluru’s corporations are in a bind as to how to interpret it.
• In its order, the Supreme Court clearly underscored that the authorities concerned must undertake euthanasia only after due assessment by qualified veterinary experts and strictly in accordance with the provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, the Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023, and other applicable statutory protocols.
• For this purpose, all the corporations will now also have committees of their own to assess the requirement for euthanasia and make a decision on it.
• Earlier, euthanasia was possible under the Animal Birth Control Rules (ABC) Rules, which had clear guidelines stating that if a stray dog was incurably injured or mortally ill, euthanasia could be carried out.
• The erstwhile Bruhat...