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(d) provide guidelines to pet dog owners and commercial breeders from time to time;

(e) get a survey done of the number of street dogs by an independent agency;

(f) take such steps for monitoring the dog bite cases to ascertain the reasons of dog bite, the area where it took place and whether it was from a stray or a pet dog;

(g) keep a watch on the national and international developments in the field of research pertaining to street dogs' control and management, development of vaccines and cost effective methods of sterilisation, vaccination, etc.

48. The expression "stray" or "ownerless dogs" in sub-section (12) of Section 58 and the expression "straying" in section 345 must be read in the context of street dogs which are not incurably ill or mortally wounded or suffering from rabies as only as such dogs are not contemplated under the ABC Rules, 2001 which can be exterminated. In other words, healthy dogs but causing nuisance or have a tendency to maul or bite people, particularly children or "complaint oriented dogs" on account of their unruly behaviour, could be culled having regard to the method stated above on the authorization of the Municipal Commissioner. The complaints would have to be made to the authorized officer of the Municipal Corporation, respondent B.B.M.P. in the instant case. At this point, it would not be inappropriate to extract the statistics regarding the number of dog bites for the decade 2000-2010 within the jurisdiction of B.B.M.P. as submitted to the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the affidavit of B.B.M.P. "iii) Number of Dog bites is Bangalore Mahanagara Palike and Bruhath Bangalore Mahanagara Palike:

     Year                 No. of Dog bites
     2000-01              Not available
     2001-02              Not available




     2002-03           Not available
     2003-04           22,912
     2004-05           32,967
     2005-06           28,006
     2006-07          17,798
     2007-08          20,893
     2008-09          12,796
     2009-10          21,586"


     These figures speak for themselves.

49. We hasten to add that where stray or street dogs do not give rise to any behavioral complaint or are disease free, cannot en masse be destroyed under the provisions of KMC Act, 1976. Such dogs would have to be captured vaccinated, sterilized and released at the same locality where they were captured, in terms of Rule 7 of the ABC Rules, 2001. Therefore, the provision of ABC Rules, 2001 have to be strictly implemented through the Monitoring Committee and the Animal Welfare Organisations significantly, the Municipal Commissioner is the ex-officio Chairman of the Committee contemplated under Rule 3 of the ABC Rules, 2001. The Municipal Commissioner while exercising powers under the relevant provisions of the KMC Act, 1976, would have to also bear in mind the provisions of the 1960 Act and ABC Rules, 2001 for culling of dogs. Even with regard to sterilized and vaccinated stray dogs which are creating nuisance or biting children and adults, the local Authority, such as the respondent-BBMP, is empowered to exterminate such dogs in a humane manner as contemplated in Rule 9 of the ABC Rules, 2001. It is made clear that the Animal Welfare Organisations have no role to play in the decision with regard to culling of the complaint oriented dogs except to ensure that they are destroyed in a humane manner on the orders of the Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation.

50. Indeed if the Animal Welfare Organisations strictly implement the ABC Rules, 2001 and perform their duties by vaccinating and sterilizing the stray dogs/street dogs, the nuisance caused by such dogs would in a course of time, be automatically eradicated. Sterilization, in a due course of time, would bring down the number of dogs and vaccination would ensure the health of the existing dogs and save people from adverse effects in the event of a dog bite. But unless sterilization programme is taken to its logical conclusion, the menace of stray dogs, their nuisance and dog bites would continue. It is in this context, that even Section 11 of the 1960 Act, permits extermination of such dogs by the local authorities but in a humane and not in a cruel manner. We are of the view that the destruction of such dogs, which are identified by the Municipal Corporation as per the method prescribed in Rule 9 of the ABC Rules, 2001 is a humane method.