Kerala has already been in the news for the abuse of elephants which sadly hides in the shadow of tradition and tourism. But it's getting worse. With a population of over 2.5 lakh stray dogs, Kerala has failed to carry out plans to control it. The southern state has instead decided to pass a resolution to sell their stray dogs to China so they can be eaten by the locals at the infamous Yulin festival. NG Jayasimha of Humane Society International (HSI), India, said "Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules, 2001, formulated under Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, to manage population of stray dogs, is proven to reduce stray dog population, reduce incidence of bites and rabies and the state of Kerala is bound to follow these rules, as established by the Central Government. I request you to instruct the Panchayats to abide by the law and ask them to channel their time, energy and resources in legal, scientific and humane methods as per the Animal Birth Control Dog Rules 2001, to control stray dog population and not resort to illegal, unscientific and illogical ideas such as trade in dog meat," in a letter to Panchayats in Kerala and Social Welfare Minister MK Muneer.

Last week, presidents of panchayats in Ernakulam district had adopted a controversial resolution proposing that the dog meat be "exported" to South Korea, China and the north-east.

The resolution was introduced by Edakkttuvayal Gram Panchayat President K R Jayakumar at a meeting of the Ernakulam District Panchayat Presidents' Association: "In my proposal to counter the menace of stray dogs, I suggested that we should utilise the opportunity. We should export stray dog meat to generate foreign money. People in northeast and countries like China and South Korea consume dog meat on a large scale. If we export canines to these countries, we can address the problems of stray dog attacks on humans."