SHC orders govt to remove stray dogs by ‘old method’

SUKKUR: The Sindh High Court Circuit Bench Sukkur ordered the Sindh government to apply the time tested old methodology of removing stray dogs from the cities in order to safeguard the people from vicious attacks and contracting rabies.

A petitioner in his constitutional petition had pleaded in the Circuit Bench that the Sindh government has failed to remove stray dogs from the cities due to which a very large number of people have been bitten by the rabid dogs. Furthermore, he also pleaded that the provincial government has also failed to take adequate measures to protect the crops from locust attacks incurring serious damage to agricultural produce. Responding to the plea, Additional Advocate General Shafi Muhammed Chandio told the court that the Sindh government has started vasectomy of dogs to prevent them from becoming infected and attacking the people.

Justice Aftab Ahmed and Justice Khadim Hussain Kalwar questioned the efficacy of the newly introduced measure and ordered the Sindh government to revert to the old methodology of culling the stray dogs and ensure availability of anti dog bite vaccines in adequate numbers at the government hospitals and other pharmacies. The bench also directed to use helicopters to spray pesticides against the locust swarms damaging crops.

The bench directed the Chief Secretary Sindh to submit a compliance report, while directing Additional Secretary Local Government and Director General Agriculture to appear before the court at the next hearing on Dec 19.