New SOP for animal lovers to feed stray dogs in West Bengal
The SOP states that the civic bodies in the state would designate spots in every municipal ward for animal lovers to feed the stray animals at a particular time of the day
The West Bengal government has introduced a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for animal lovers to feed stray dogs to avoid any altercation between caregivers and local residents.

The SOP states that the civic bodies in the state would designate spots in every municipal ward for animal lovers to feed the stray animals at a particular time of the day. It also includes a list of food items which may be given to the dogs and some items which should be avoided.
“There have been multiple incidents in the past in which fights broke out between the animal lovers, feeding stray dogs on the roads, with some local residents. Some even reached the courts. The SOP was developed earlier this week to avoid these situations,” said a senior official.
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Earlier this year, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) had come up with an SOP for feeding stray animals. The move by the state urban development and municipal affairs government came after the Calcutta high court ordered the state government to develop a similar SOP for all cities and towns in the state.
“The SOP states that the civic body would earmark some designated areas for feeding the stray dogs. These designated areas shouldn’t be near any area where children play, crowded areas in front of any individual’s house, shop or building. Also, they shouldn’t compromise the width of the road or footpath,” the official added.
Feeding of the dogs may be done only at the designated areas within a specific time period in two slots - before 7am and once in the evening after 7pm for a minimum of two hours each. Those feeding the animals need to use biodegradable plates and newspapers.
“It also includes a list of items which may be fed to the animals such as rice, roti, boiled potato, cooked throw-away meat parts collected from butcher’s shop such as chicken feet and goat lungs and canned food for dogs. The list of items that should be avoided include chocolate, caffeine, dairy items, sweetened snacks, berries and onions and garlic,” the official said citing the SOP.
It also includes penalty provisions for both animal lovers violating the SOP and those resisting the animal lovers.
“Feeding community dogs beyond the designated area specified by the municipal corporation may attract the provision of punishment for depositing or throwing any solid waste in contravention of extant laws, referred to in section 272 of the West Bengal Municipal Act, 1993 or section 188K of the Howrah Municipal Corporation Act, 1980 or section 300k of the West Bengal Municipal Corporation Act, 2006, as the case may be,” the SOP states.
