India accounts for 36% of the world’s rabies deaths and 65% of rabies deaths in Southeast Asia. Stray dogs are a major concern, with many media reports of attacks on humans, including fatalities. On April 18, 2023, the government announced the new Animal Birth Control Rules 2023, which aim to address the stray dog menace in the country. In this article, you can read all about the new Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023 for the IAS exam.
Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023
- The Animal Birth Control Rules 2023 require stray dogs to be caught, vaccinated, neutered, and released back.
- This approach aims to control the dog population without cruelty.
- The 2001 Rules failed as the programme was implemented piecemeal, allowing dog populations to continue to grow. Neutering and vaccination alone are not enough to prevent dogs from forming packs and attacking people.
- The Rules aim to provide guidelines for the sterilisation and immunisation of stray dogs through Animal Birth Control (ABC) programmes. These programmes should be conducted by the local bodies, municipalities, municipal corporations, and panchayats.
- ABC and the anti-rabies programmes should be carried out jointly by these bodies.
- The Rules provide guidelines on resolving human-dog conflicts without relocation of the animals.
Problems with the Animal Birth Control Rules:
- The Animal Birth Control Rules 2023 transform “stray dogs” into “community animals,” but this classification is unclear.
- The Rules ask residents’ welfare associations to care for and feed the dogs away from children and the elderly, which could lead to more homelessness and susceptibility to disease and injury.
- The Rules do not address improper disposal of solid waste and casual feeding of dogs, which could lead to more conflicts between humans and dogs.
- The local authorities will be responsible for any violation during birth-control procedures and animal-human conflicts, but they lack funds, staff, and infrastructure for this.
Also read: Human-wildlife conflicts
Animal Welfare Board of India:
- The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) is a statutory advisory body established in 1962 under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
- It functions under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India and plays a vital role in animal welfare and protection in the country.
- The AWBI advises the central government on animal welfare issues and also provides recommendations and guidelines to the state governments, animal welfare organizations, and the public on the treatment and care of animals.
- It is responsible for monitoring the implementation of animal welfare laws, conducting investigations and research, and promoting animal welfare education and awareness programs across the country.
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act:
- The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act is an Indian law enacted in 1960 to prevent cruelty towards animals.
- It is a comprehensive law that aims to prevent unnecessary pain or suffering to animals.
- The act lays down various provisions related to animal cruelty, such as the prohibition of cruel treatment of animals, animal transportation, and animal slaughter.
- The act also provides for the establishment of animal welfare boards to promote animal welfare and investigate complaints of animal cruelty.
- The law is enforced by the Animal Welfare Board of India and other law enforcement agencies.
Conclusion:
- The Animal Birth Control Rules 2023 aim to control the stray dog menace in India, but they have several drawbacks.
- The Rules need to prohibit the improper disposal of solid waste and casual feeding of dogs, promote formal ownership, and require dogs to be adopted and directly cared for, to eliminate canine homelessness altogether.
- Without these improvements, the Rules could create more problems at the local level while failing to address the root cause of the problem.
Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023:- Download PDF Here
| Related Links | |||
| Rukmini Devi Arundale | World Veterinary Day | ||
| World Animal Welfare Day | World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) | ||
| Project Elephant | UPSC Environment and Ecology | ||
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