The Karnataka High Court was informed by the Karnataka government on Wednesday that a gathering convened by the Additional Chief Secretary of the Urban Development Department centered its discussions on providing a compensation of ₹5 lakh to families affected by fatalities resulting from dog bites.

The matter was heard before the division bench of Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice Krishna S Dixit

Furthermore, the meeting also deliberated on offering ₹5,000 as compensation for individuals experiencing injuries. In response, the high court directed that a follow-up meeting be convened within four weeks to formulate a comprehensive plan addressing these matters.

During the hearing of a public interest litigation focused on the implementation of the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules, 2001, the high court instructed the government to extensively publicize the guidelines concerning the feeding of street animals and methods for resolving conflicts in this regard.

"There cannot be a dispute on the aspect that unless steps are taken to make the public at large...made aware of guidelines, there shall be no effective implementation of guidelines and, to achieve this purpose, the state can certainly give wide publicity to these guidelines in the official websites of the state government," the court said.

Additionally, the court suggested that the state could circulate pamphlets and make announcements on television and in cinema halls, if deemed necessary. It emphasized that these suggestions were open to further exploration by the government to ensure the message reaches the public through all possible means.

The PIL was filed by Tumakuru-based advocate Ramesh Naik L.

During the previous hearing on October 5, the court had instructed the state to present the actions taken to tackle issues related to stray dogs and the adherence to the Animal Welfare Board of India's (AWBI) guidelines concerning the feeding of these animals. Although the guidelines permit feeding street animals in designated areas, the court had observed instances where animals were being fed at locations like the 'Vidhana Soudha' and Cubbon Park, posing risks to school children.

On the recent hearing date, the government advocate informed the court that following the October 5 directive, a meeting was convened on October 6 involving stakeholders to discuss guideline implementation. Granting the state an additional four weeks, the high court deferred the case for six weeks to facilitate another meeting with stakeholders to further address these matters. The AWBI's Guidelines on Pet and Street/Stray Dogs were issued in 2015.

In the October hearing, the court highlighted that the guidelines aimed to acknowledge a citizen's genuine intention to feed street dogs while emphasizing the responsibility placed on individuals to ensure that such actions don't cause disruption, obstruction, or health risks to fellow citizens. In light of incidents involving children being bitten by dogs, the court directed the state to respond by implementing "appropriate remedial measures" to address these concerns.