SHILLONG, July 29: The Meghalaya government has constituted the Local Animal Birth Control Monitoring Committee to coordinate the implementation of the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Programme.
The committee will be responsible for the planning and management of the dog control programme. It may issue instructions regarding the catching, transportation, sheltering, sterilisation, vaccination, treatment, and release of sterilised, vaccinated, or treated dogs.
The committee may authorise a veterinary doctor to, on a case-by-case basis, determine the need to humanely euthanise critically ill, fatally injured, or rabid dogs using sodium pentothal. The use of any other method is strictly prohibited.
Additionally, the committee will work to raise public awareness, seek public cooperation and funding, and issue guidelines for pet dog owners and commercial breeders as required. It will also monitor dog bite incidents, determine the causes, identify the areas where such cases occur, and ascertain whether the dog involved was a stray or a pet.
The Ex-Officio Chairperson of the committee shall be the Municipal Commissioner or the Executive Officer of the local authority.
Other members of the committee will include a representative from the District Public Health department, a representative from the Animal Husbandry department of the nearby Block or District, and other designated members.
