Governor Sardar Saleem Haider Khan has intervened to stop illegal dog culling operations across the province. In a letter to the principal secretary to the chief minister, the additional secretary governor’s house said that a delegation of the civil society met the governor and apprised him about the need to follow and implement the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Policy 2021.
He said the governor had sought necessary action under existing legal frameworks. Earlier, a civil society delegation led by Barrister Syeda Maqsooma Zahra Bokhari, an advocate of the Supreme Court, presented comprehensive research papers and allied documents highlighting illegal practices employed by local authorities. Barrister Bokhari strongly condemned the killing of stray dogs by the authorities in a contempt of court order.
“Despite repeated assurances given to the high court to implement the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Policy 2021 which mandates the World Health Organisation (WHO)-approved vaccination and sterilisation techniques, authorities have reportedly continued mass shootings and poisonings,” she said and added that killing had the opposite effect of increasing the population three times.
“Punjab’s practices are contrary to successful trap-neuter-vaccinate-return (TNVR) models running in Sindh and Islamabad,” she said.
It has urged the Punjab government to strictly enforce its 2021 policy framework, which legally defines robust monitoring committees from the provincial-level down to the individual tehsils.
The government had told the Lahore High Court that the Punjab Animal Birth Control Policy 2021 would be implemented in its letter and spirit. The representatives of the office of the deputy commissioner, the SPAL (formerly LWMC) outside the city and other departments had submitted their undertakings that they would not deviate from the policy.
The petitioners, in their plea, had stated that the government authorities were not reliable as they continued to carry out dog culling operations despite an undertaking previously given by the Punjab government’s lawyer. The judge, however, disposed of the petition and observed that the petitioners could file a contempt of court petition in case of any violation of the policy by the authorities.