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The complaint said the government should have implemented animal control measures, including sterilisation and vaccination, to help people deal with the stray dog menace. (Express Photo by Atul Horizon)
In yet another case of stray dog killing, the Telangana Police have booked a sarpanch and two others for poisoning 100 stray dogs at Yacharam, about 50 km from Hyderabad.
The case was registered after a complaint from the Stray Animal Foundation of India (SAFI), even as the police said that dog carcasses have not been recovered. “At present, we think that 40 to 50 dogs were killed and their bodies buried. We are yet to dig out the carcasses,” a Yacharam police officer told The Indian Express.
It is believed the dogs were poisoned because village administrations had promised to do away with the stray dog menace once they won the recently concluded Panchayat elections. Panchayat polls were held in December 2025 in Telangana.
Earlier, 120 dog carcasses were retrieved from two villages in Hanamkonda district of Telangana, while another 100 were recovered from Kamareddy district.
Based on the complaint, police booked cases under sections related to animal cruelty under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita as well as the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
The complaint said the government should have implemented animal control measures, including sterilisation and vaccination, to help people deal with the stray dog menace.
“The dogs were injected with poison and their food was also poisoned,” a police officer told The Indian Express, adding that the police had started an awareness campaign to prevent the mistreatment of stray animals.
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Meanwhile, the Supreme Court said it would ask states to pay “heavy compensation” for dog-bite incidents as it flagged concern over the lack of implementation of norms regarding stray animals in the past five years. A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and N V Anjaria also said that “responsibility and accountability will be fixed on those who are feeding these stray dogs”.
Till last year, dog catchers were employed to clear villages in Telangana of strays. Most dogs that were caught were returned to the same villages after vaccination and sterilisation. “We made several representations during the past two years to district collectors and other district administration staff, but all this fell on deaf ears,” a villager claimed.
Nikhila Henry is an Assistant Editor at The Indian Express, based in Hyderabad. With a career spanning 17 years, she has established herself as an authoritative voice on South Indian affairs, specialising in the complex intersections of politics, education, and social justice. Experience & Career: Nikhila commenced her journalism career in 2007 as an education correspondent for The Times of India in Hyderabad,where she gained recognition for her coverage of student politics. Her professional trajectory includes a four-year tenure at The Hindu, where she focused on minority affairs and social welfare. In 2019, she took on a leadership role as the South Bureau Chief for The Quint, where she directed regional coverage across all five South Indian states. Her expansive career also includes a tenure at the BBC in New Delhi and contributions to prestigious international outlets such as The Sunday Times (London) and HuffPost India. Expertise & Focus Areas Nikhila’s reportage is marked by a deep-seated understanding of grassroots movements and institutional policy. Her core focus areas include: Regional Politics: Comprehensive analysis of the socio-political dynamics across South India. Education & Student Movements: Chronicling the evolution of Indian academics and the rise of youth activism. Minority Affairs: Rigorous reporting on the welfare, rights, and challenges facing marginalized communities. National Beat: Elevating regional stories to national prominence through investigative and on-ground reporting. Authoritativeness & Trust A respected figure in Indian media, Nikhila is not only a seasoned reporter but also an accomplished author and editor. She authored the critically acclaimed book The Ferment: Youth Unrest in India and edited Caste is Not a Rumour, a collection of writings by Rohith Vemula. Her dual background in daily news reporting and long-form authorship allows her to provide readers with a nuanced, historically-informed perspective on contemporary Indian society. Find all stories by Nikhila Henry here. ... Read More
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