Thiruvananthapuram, February 20 : District Collector Biju Prabhakar has accused the NGOs opposing the culling of stray dogs in the State of acting at the behest of the ‘anti-rabies vaccine lobby’.

“I have it on good authority that the NGOs campaigning against culling of stray dogs are being financed by the anti-rabies vaccine lobby,” he said.

He was speaking at a function organised here in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday to launch the hunger strike of industrialist Kochouseph Chittilappilly demanding effective steps from authorities to address the issue of stray dog menace across the State.

This is not the first time the District Collector has charged the anti-rabies vaccine lobby with covertly spearheading the campaign against culling of stray dogs.

In a blog post back in 2013, he had written that the Supreme Court order banning culling of stray dogs was secured by distorting facts before the Court.

He had written that he knew from his time at KMSCL (central procurement agency for drugs and equipments for government hospitals) of the ‘astronomical figures’ the anti-rabies vaccine lobby earned by way of supplying the vaccine.

Speaking at the function, legislator K Muraleedharan voiced his support for the culling of stray dogs posing a threat to humans, saying that such dangerous stray dogs should be ‘bludgeoned to death’.

Chittilappilly kicked off his hunger strike by taking a swig from a tender coconut handed over to him by Latin archbishop of Thiruvananthapuram M Soosai Pakiam.

Film actor Maniyanpilla Raju, poet Rosemary, and former Chief Secretary C P Nair also spoke at the function.

Chittilappilly decided to go ahead with the hunger strike despite opposition from various quarters.

A writ petition was filed in the Kerala High Court on Thursday by a social activist, seeking a directive to stop Chittilappilly from staging the hunger strike on the ground that the strike would send out a wrong message to the public, who in turn would be instigated to kill stray dogs in ‘inhuman ways’.

Chittilappilly would call off the hunger strike on Sunday noon. He had earlier staged similar hunger strikes in Kozhikode and Kochi.