The scare of stray dogs echoed in Himachal Pradesh assembly on Thursday. Even as a senior BJP member from Kullu Maheshwar Singh asked the government to declare dogs as ‘vermin’ like monkeys in HP and allow the people to shoot them, Urban Development minister, Sudhir Sharma rejected it.

The minister said that the dogs live close to humans and can’t be compared with monkeys. As also, the government is bound by Supreme Court orders against culling of dogs.

“The government has no option but to stick to the strategy of Anti-Rabies vaccination and sterilisation of dogs of war-footing to control population of stray dogs in the long run. We have already seen a decline in their population as per the census carried out every five years,” he said.

In a calling attention motion in the House, BJP member Maheshwar Singh cited an incident of a dog having chased and bitten more than six persons in Shimla on February 17. He said the monkeys and dogs have become a pain in the neck for the common man, as they suddenly attack and bite the passersby. Singh said the government has remained a silent spectator to the glaring problem of stray dog menace.

In a detailed reply, the Urban Development minister said, while fresh census of dogs in HP is to be carried out this year. According to the 2012 census, the population of stray dogs in the state was 1.75 lakh compared with 2.82 lakh in 2008.
He said the Animal Birth Control Society has so far sterilised and vaccinated 16,820 stray dogs in HP.

Sharma said the civic bodies have been asked to register the pets at the earliest by outsourcing the work, so that the stray dogs and pets could be distinguished. The minister informed that the government is continuously taking steps to control the stray dog menace.

He said, on March 30, 2013, the High Court of Himachal Pradesh had given directions to free Shimla of stray dogs in three months. But, certain NGOs went to the Supreme Court, following which the orders were passed citing Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, wherein no High Court can interfere in the issue.  “So we cannot allow culling of dogs. We can vaccinate them against Rabies so that if a dog bites, it does not harm the person,” he said.

The Shimla MC already has a helpline number 1916, if someone is bitten by a monkey or a dog. The Corporation has a dog catching van as well.

“A Dog House costing Rs.80 lakh was constructed in the Shimla Municipal Limits many years ago, but that too could not function, due to court orders,” he said.