Vaikom: Several stray dogs were found dead and buried in Mulakulam panchayat in Vaikom on Tuesday.
Ten dogs were found dead in the area. It is alleged that the dogs were poisoned by the locals here after authorities failed to cull their numbers.
It is likely that enraged locals took the matter into their own hands. Several people were bitten by stray dogs here in the past few weeks.
However, it can only be verified after the postmortem results. The police has also launched a probe into the incident.
Existing laws do not allow the killing of stray dogs. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, and the subordinate rules it spawned, prohibit killing or even maiming of stray dogs.
In 2016, the Supreme Court had warned vigilante groups in Kerala that had taken it upon themselves to shoot down the ferocious canine population and who had gone around distributing cheap air guns to the public and exhorting them to do the same. The apex court had then said that human life was not superior to animal life.
The incident comes against the backdrop of Kerala government's move to use extreme measures to keep stray dog menace in check.
Local self government minister MB Ragesh on Monday said that the State will seek the permission of the apex court to cull aggressive and rabies-infected stray dogs.
