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YELP! GOA'S GROWING NUMBER OF STRAYS RAISES A ROW >From Pamela D'Mello Panaji: They may be man's best friends, but currently Goa's estimated one hundred thousand stray dog population has sharply divided public opinion in this state. Five years after the High Court stopped municipalities from having healthy strays shot on the streets for "a 25 paise a tail-fee" --- a growing number of vocal citizens want civic authorities to either impound or euthanise what they say is an increasingly unmanageable population of mongrels. The 1998 order, petitioned by the People for Animals NGO, had then led to civic bodies starting an ABC-RV (animal birth control-rabies vaccine) programme with assistance from animal welfare associations (AWAs), including the International Animal Rescue. "Since 2000, the programme has covered 20,000 dogs ---14,000 have been neutered, 4000 unhealthy strays have been euthanised, and around 2000 pets have been vaccinated" claims PFA convenor Norma Alvares. Citizens banded together under the two year old People for Elimination of Stray Troubles (PEST), however feel the programme is working far too slowly to be effective. "An ABC-RV programme can only be effective if 70-80% of the dog population is covered within a six month period, before the next breeding season commences", argues PEST's legal counsel Aires Rodrigues. Otherwise the cycle repeats itself, with more strays on the streets. Besides, in the absence of a large enough dog pound, volunteers, staff and finances, AWAs are releasing treated strays back onto the streets, endangering motorists and pedestrians , resulting in some deaths, PEST argues. The "problem" has polarised opinion and monthy magazine "Goa Today" ran a story dubbing it a Canine Cancer. The magazine said 22 persons died of rabies in the past six years, while 13,000 have been bitten --- 2000 dog bites a year --- incidentally one of the higest rates of dog bites in the country. Last year PEST went to court to press municipalities and panchayats to invoke existing laws "to keep strays off the streets", and a provision under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act that allow euthanisation. AWAs represented by Alvares in court are opposed to this. "How can you pick up any healthy dog off the street and put it into a gas chamber", she asks. "Strays are on the streets because there is garbage and bins, and because people put them there. Some of them have loose owners who feed them scraps" she says arguing for a wholistic approach and more time for the ABC programme to eventually bring down numbers. While canines are being targetted, human mismanagement of the environment is being condoned. Municipalities and village panchayats, have miserably failed to implement a licensing policy, that would require all pets to be vaccinated and neutered unless owners pay higher breeding fees. Meanwhile, PEST was partly successful in its legal plea. A division Bench in January asked the Chief Justice to constitute a larger bench to reexamine the legal issues involved to see if any further steps could be taken to deal with the situation.(Ends) ------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ Goanet mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.goanet.org/mailman/listinfo/goanet
