“The Animal Welfare Board has been constituted to ensure that Government shifts stray dogs to shelters for public safety as per Supreme Court directives and balances its actions with ethical animal welfare standards.
”Days after Supreme Court recently directed all States and Union Territory Governments of the country to shift stray dogs from public places to shelters for public safety the Jammu & Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha constituted an Animal Welfare Board to be headed by Chief Minister as its patron. So obviously the motive of the constitution of animal welfare board is to ensure that while Government implements the Supreme Court directive on shifting of stray dogs from public places to shelters for public safety, the animal welfare board tends to balance animal welfare with public safety. Now when Lt Governor has constituted an animal welfare board obviously to ensure that the implementation of Supreme Court decision on shifting of stray dogs from public places to shelters does not result in violation of animal rights in any way, the latest survey on animal bites has shown cat bites surpassing dog bites. According to the survey the no of cat bite cases recorded in the year 2025 is 9,019 while those of dog bite cases is 7,396 cases. As figures of animal bite cases show an unprecedented rise in vulnerability of animal threats to human populations across Jammu & Kashmir , the safety of human populations both in residential areas and as well as public places like schools, hospitals and public offices against animal threats necessitates the implementation of some more preventive measures and as well as conflict mitigation strategies. The best precautionary measure can be treatment of animal bite victims in Government hospitals across Jammu & Kashmir. While special treatment is available for dog bite victims at Government hospitals but there have been occasional reports of temporary stock shortages in various government hospitals, which might require patients to purchase the vaccine from private pharmacies. However, the official policy is to provide it free of charge.
“To safeguard public health and animal welfare in Jammu & Kashmir, authorities must prioritize regular pet vaccinations alongside a large-scale expansion of stray dog shelters. Achieving this requires a strategic increase in municipal healthcare budgets to fund the necessary infrastructure, specialized staff, and humane housing facilities.”
While ensuring delivery of anti- rabies vaccines free of cost to dog bite victims the Government must ensure that when this life saving vaccine is not in stock at Government hospitals patients get immediate re-imbursement of the cost incurred for buying the vaccine from open market directly to his/ her accounts. Additionally people have noticed an unprecedented rise in cat lovers across Jammu & Kashmir. Unfortunately pet clinics established for the treatment of pet animals are not registered anywhere in Jammu & Kashmir. Notably Government Medical College Srinagar is only health institution which maintains the record of animal bites in the animal bite registry. Health experts have already warned that contact with cats cannot just lead to physical injuries but may also increase the risk of miscarriages among pregnant women besides which an infection caused by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii found in cat faeces can cause headache, skin rashes and mild fever. While the best precaution for the cat lovers would be regular vaccination and timely checkups at health facilities across Jammu & Kashmir, the shifting of stray dogs from populated areas and public places to shelters necessitates immediate measures for raising the number of shelters, staff, and funding required to humanely house the existing stray dog populations. Building and maintaining such infrastructure also necessitates immediate increase in the municipal healthcare budgets.
