KARIMNAGAR, OCTOBER 18, 2024: The Karimnagar One town police have booked a man under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act for allegedly killing a stray dog at the main vegetable market in Karimnagar town. The suspect has been identified as Ajaz, a vegetable vendor in Karimnagar town.
Police sources said that Ajaz killed the dog at the vegetable market area near Venkateshwara Swamy temple around 1.20 pm on Thursday. Based on a complaint lodged by animal rights activist A Goutham from Stray Animal Foundation of India, the police filed an FIR and a post-mortem was performed on the dog.
Initially, the police refused to register a case. Goutham approached Menaka Gandhi, who spoke to the Karimnagar Town-I police officers. According to the local people, Ajaz, who runs a shop in a vegetable market, developed a grudge against the dog as it had bitten him in the past. The dog had also bitten a number of people in the vegetable market.
The killing of a stray dog is a cognizable offense under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, and the Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023. The punishment for killing a stray dog is: A fine of up to ₹1,000, Imprisonment for up to two years, Both a fine and imprisonment and Forfeiture of the animal to the government.
The Supreme Court of India has ruled that municipalities cannot kill stray dogs indiscriminately. Instead, they must follow the Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023, which advocate for sterilization over killing.
The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, and the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, also protect stray dogs from cruelty. In 2009, the Supreme Court of India issued a stay order against the removal, culling, or dislocation of dogs anywhere in India.
