‘Implementing SC order on strays to be a challenge’

Panaji: The Supreme Court on Friday took cognisance of the alarming rise in dog bite incidents across institutional areas and directed that strays be relocated from educational centres, hospitals, and bus stations to designated shelter homes.

The order has stirred a wave of reactions in Goa, with govt officials, local bodies, and animal welfare organisations weighing in on both the practicality and implications of implementing such a move.Animal husbandry minister, Nilkanth Harlankar, told TOI that while govt welcomes the intent of the order, its implementation will require a closer study. “We passed a Bill in the assembly to ban ferocious dogs, but we were taken to court for it.

Now, thanks to the SC order, we can take custody of the ferocious dogs, but we still cannot ban certain breeds. Our focus, however, remains on mass sterilisation of stray dogs and controlling the stray dog population in Goa,” he said.Panchayats minister Mauvin Godinho admitted that despite multiple agencies currently engaged in tackling the stray dog problem, coordination needs improvement. “The existing mechanism with various agencies trying to work in tandem—panchayats, municipalities, govt—needs a relook to have a practical system that achieves the desired results,” he told TOI.

At the grassroots-level, leaders have expressed both support and concern. Prashant Naik, sarpanch of Azossim-Mandur, welcomed the SC decision. “This is a good decision, but a shelter to accommodate the dogs in a panchayat needs funds and space.”Calangute sarpanch, Joseph Sequeira, said,“We will wait for Goa govt to give recommendations and guidelines on conducting the relocation and providing a space for the shelter.”Animal welfare organisations have taken a strong stance against the move, calling it impractical and inhumane. Dexter Braganza, executive secretary of the DSPCA (North Goa), said that the court order is based on a flawed approach that could backfire. “ While safety is important, this plan is not practical, will waste public money, and is cruel to the dogs. The real problem is not the dogs—the system has failed, and the friendly dogs will pay the price,” he said.Braganza pointed out that Goa currently lacks even a single shelter large enough to house stray dogs humanely. He added that govt’s inability to manage existing Animal Birth Control (ABC) programmes casts doubt on its ability to maintain dog shelters. He warned that relocating dogs could actually increase dog bite incidents rather than reduce them. He suggested adopting the Bhutan model, which focuses on large-scale, humane sterilisation and vaccination drives.With inputs from Ramit Mehrotra.