BJP leader Vijay Goel demands changes in animal birth control rules to check stray dog-bite incidents

Senior BJP leader Vijay Goel, who is currently spearheading a movement against the stray dog menace in Delhi, met the Animal Welfare Board of India chairman on Saturday and urged the panel not to interfere in the municipal corporation's efforts to tackle the problem.

Goel also said there is a need to amend the Animal Birth Control Rules for checking the growing number of stray dogs and incidents of dog bites in the city.

A delegation led by the former Union minister met Animal Welfare Board of India Chairman O P Chaudhary and submitted a memorandum to him.

''The Animal Welfare Board is only an advisory body. It has to work only for the prevention of cruelty to stray dogs. The board should not interfere in the work of municipal corporations,'' Goel said in a statement.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader claimed that the resident welfare associations (RWAs) in the national capital believe that ever since the board ''intervened'' and framed rules and regulations in this regard, the number of dog bite incidents has gone up because the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is not discharging its responsibility properly.

''In the name of ending corruption, the Animal Welfare Board has taken over the registration of the NGOs involved in sterilisation of dogs, which is not right,'' Goel said.

The board has given the responsibility of necessary arrangements to feed stray dogs to the RWAs. However, there are no RWAs in villages and unauthorised colonies and there are conflicts within the associations over the issue, he claimed.

Also, the RWAs have no support from the government to feed the stray dogs even as there are differences among their members over the need for feeding the animals due to the incidents of dog bites.

The government should reconsider whether the Animal Welfare Board needs to make rules in this regard or not and what amendments are required in the rules to prevent incidents of stray dog bites, Goel said.