A large number of dog lovers on Monday held a protest in Sector-17, Chandigarh, against the Punjab Government’s stray dog management measures. Holding posters, they demanded a compassionate, scientific and legally sustainable approach towards addressing the issue of stray dogs in Punjab.Former MLA Navjot Kaur Sidhu participated in the protest and said the approach taken by the state government towards stray dogs was wrong. “The government should consult all stakeholders before taking a decision on the issue and provide details of cow cess collected from people,” she added.Deeksha Bhalaik, Dr Nidhie Saini, Prabhjot, Harshpreet and other protesters said they were submitting a memorandum to the Punjab CM on the issue. The memorandum read, “Public safety is paramount. Dog-bite incidents, rabies prevention and safe public spaces are legitimate concerns that deserve urgent attention. However, these concerns can only be addressed through full implementation of the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, and evidence-based animal management policies. Punjab is not facing a “dog problem”, but an implementation problem. For decades, sterilisation and vaccination targets have remained unmet across large parts of the state. The resulting increase in unsterilised populations has created a situation that requires urgent corrective action. The ABC Rules, 2023, clearly require that sterilised and vaccinated community dogs be returned to the same locality from where they were captured. Any interpretation that results in large-scale removal, detention, displacement or permanent confinement of healthy community dogs would directly undermine the objectives of the ABC Rules and create legal as well as practical difficulties.  Vacated territories do not remain empty. New unsterilised dogs migrate into these areas, leading to renewed breeding and territorial conflicts. This phenomenon has been repeatedly recognised by animal population experts and is known as the ‘vacuum effect’.”The government’s SOP calls for removal of aggressive dogs and those involved in attacks. However, there is no clear scientific or veterinary definition of what constitutes an “aggressive dog”, said protesters, adding that without standardised behavioural assessment protocols, healthy and non-dangerous dogs may be wrongly classified as aggressive merely because complaints were received against them. Protesters demanded that that behavioural evaluation be conducted only by trained veterinary professionals and that removal decisions be documented and subject to review.”Restrictions on feeding without simultaneously establishing designated feeding zones in every ward may create conflict between citizens and authorities, and reduce community participation in sterilisation efforts. Punjab is estimated to have a very large population of community dogs. Even if shelters are built, no government can realistically house every healthy community dog indefinitely.  Punjab has always been known for compassion, courage and humanity. We urge the Government of Punjab to adopt a model that protects both people and animals,” read the memorandum submitted by protesters.