FIR should be filed against those feeding stray dogs in Delhi: Vijay Goel

Cases should be registered against those feeding stray dogs who bite humans without any provocation, former Union minister Vijay Goel said on Thursday.

The BJP leader cited a recent Bombay High Court order, which held that feeding large groups of pigeons constitutes public nuisance and a health hazard, as it directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to register FIRs against individuals involved in the act. "Just like the Bombay High Court order, the Delhi High Court must ban feeding stray dogs. Once fed, these dogs become aggressive and territorial. FIRs should be registered against those who feed dogs which attack men, women, children and the elderly without any provocation," Goel demanded in a press conference.

He also called for slapping a fine on the ''offenders'' along with the registration of FIRs, and compensating the dog bite victims. Referring to a Delhi High Court hearing scheduled for August 6, Goel said he would file an intervention application to highlight the roadblocks in controlling the stray dog population. "The Delhi government has told the court that it has found a solution. I will place the ground reality before the bench," he said. The former Delhi BJP president claimed that around 2,000 incidents of dog bites take place in Delhi every day.

He also called for a separate helpline number to allow citizens to report dog bite incidents more easily and seek help from government agencies like the civic body. ''A separate helpline must be established for receiving dog bite complaints; the number of calls received by the helpline will make people realise the gravity of the situation,'' Goel said.

Welcoming the Supreme Court recently taking suo motu cognisance of the stray dog menace, Goel claimed that more than 12 crore stray dogs are estimated to be in the country, a number that may be still higher as the last census of street dogs was conducted nearly a decade ago.

"It is mainly the responsibility of the state governments and local bodies (to tackle stray dog menace). But they are sitting idle. Animal lovers come at me for warning people against feeding dogs, but taking care of humans should be the first priority," Goel said.

He also raised concern about the implementation of Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, saying the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is only responsible for sterilisation and vaccination of dogs, not for building shelter homes for them.

''Currently, only 13 NGOs are tasked with catching, vaccinating, sterilising, and releasing dogs back into the same area,'' Goel said, attributing the growing number of dogs on the streets to the lack of proper containment arrangements.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)