Thiruvananthapuram, July 7 (IANS): Kerala's stray dogs menace has assumed such proportions that Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has called an all-party meeting to tackle the issue.

Chandy on Tuesday informed the state ssembly that the all-party meeting will discuss the stray dog menace in the state, and a decision on the issue would be arrived at on Thursday (July 9).

The chief minister was replying to a calling attention motion moved by government chief whip Thomas Unniyadan, who raised this issue in the assembly.

"Last year, according to reports, around 90,000 people in the state were bit by stray dogs and there are some animal lovers who claim that there are laws which state that stray dogs cannot be killed, which is not true," said Unniyadan, who is also the chairman of the Assembly Petitions Committee.

Unniyadan also pointed out in the recent state budget an amount of Rs.7.23 crore has been set aside to buy anti-rabies vaccine.

"As people's representatives, we are morally responsible to the needs of our people and it's strange that these animal lovers place value the lives of stray dogs above human beings," said Unniyadan.

Chandy said there are rules to eradicate the stray dog menace and even the Kerala High Court in 2006 came out with an order.

"The safety and security of our people is of utmost importance to us. Even though there are two schools of thought on the stray dog menace, we are seized of the people's need and a final decision will be taken at the all party meeting on Thursday," Chandy said.