LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Monday sought replies from the Punjab government, Lahore city district administration and others on a petition seeking urgent action against the rising population of stray dogs and the unavailability of rabies vaccines across the province.

Young Doctors’ Association (YDA) Secretary General Dr Salman Kazmi filed the public interest petition.

Advocate Azhar Siddique appeared before the court on behalf of the petitioner and argued that the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Policy 2021, which bans dog culling, needed to be declared null and void for being flawed and ineffective, as dog bite incidents continue to rise despite the policy.

The counsel cited the case of a minor from Bahawalpur, who was reportedly left in a critical condition after a stray dog attack and was refused treatment due to a lack of vaccine.

He argued that the state failed to perform its constitutional duty of protecting the human life and ensuring the public health security.

He asked the court to direct the authorities to provide free rabies treatment in all public hospitals and to compile a comprehensive report on dog-bite cases, rabies fatalities and vaccine stocks across Punjab.

The lawyer further urged the court to suspend an earlier LHC restraining order issued in March 2025 that halted the killing of stray dogs under the ABC Policy, arguing that it had worsened the public health crisis.

He stated that immediate, lawful and effective measures were critical to protect people’s lives against the growing stray dog menace.

After hearing the arguments, Justice Khalid Ishaq issued notices to the respondents for submission of their replies by Nov 3.

The petition names the Punjab chief secretary, local government department, livestock department, and institute of public health among the respondents.

Published in Dawn, October 14th, 2025