STREET DOGS:
Their mere mention or sight boils blood of some and turns pale the faces of others. Most are terrified of them, for they are often called the lions of the concrete jungle that we inhabit. Why? What did they do?
A mind boggling 82247 cases of dog bites have been reported in 2012 and over 2000 deaths have occurred due to rabies across the nation. Over 50% of the victims were small children and the elderly were second most vulnerable. As a matter of fact, India is the home to the largest number of street dogs and is also, subsequently, the country which faces the most trouble, when it comes to street dog menace. As shocking as it might sound, around a third of deaths due to rabies across the world take place in India.
When the incidences of dog bites increased, newspapers and electronic media were abuzz with latest stories and reports. These even included the blood curdling stories of how packs of dogs mauled infants in the outskirts of Indian metropolitan cities.
Quite naturally, people have taken extreme apathy and hatred towards them. In the name of safety, residents of various colonies of almost all cite went berserk on a mongrel hunting rampage. The tales of deaths of these dogs were far gorier than the incidents of dog bites itself. Young pups were packed up with fire crackers and were left to die a slow and extremely painful death as one after the other cracker burst. Yes, young puppies, the ones that people on Face book call “cute” and “adorable”. Even as the older mongrels are poisoned, others are beaten with sticks and pelted with stones until they die. But are “such steps” successful in curbing dog bites? No!
Think about it; is this the right way to find a solution? Must we use violence to curb violence? Why do we bury our humanity to send these innocent animals to grave? We have tossed aside Bible, Gita and Quran and literally become butchers by resorting to such brutality of killing dogs in the cruelest manner conceivable. Come on, what do the religions preach? May be you are a theist but even the Article 48 of the Constitution of India says the same “Have compassion for all living creatures”. Then, why don’t we follow the same principle for the street dogs? You don’t have to be an Animal Rights activist to realize the prevailing apathy towards them.
Have you ever thought what a street dog’s life is like? They wake up to find the car they have been sleeping under missing.
Being greeted with a kick here and a mock there. Their breakfast, lunch and dinner is all that they can scrounge from your neighborhood’s garbage bins. From dawn to dusk and at midnight, they roam on the streets, homeless and aimless, sometimes avoiding a car hitting them and at others, avoiding being spotted by a municipal worker.
India and its street dogs share a history that spans thousands of years. Genetic studies have established that the stray dog populations of India were derived from the local landrace, Pariah. Pariah breed was actually of Chinese ancestry, found their new home in India some 14000 years back. After migrating to India, they became indigenous and finally adapted to the Indian climate and developed resistance the diseases it offered. In fact, today they are as much Indian as the Grey Hound is British.
Still, when it comes to adopting a pet, most prefer exotic breeds, that are not used to the Indian climate and pamper them as their children. Why can’t we adopt the Indian Pariah? They are as friendly as the exotic ones are and as an advantage, they are even used to the Indian way of life and thereby require less maintenance.
Let’s say the entire population of stray dogs is wiped out somehow. What would change? Well, nothing at all, actually. Things will only get worse. With uncollected garbage piling up and drains that occasionally flood the streets, stage is set for rats and cockroaches to go on rampage, whose population were earlier controlled by these very dogs. While bite of a rabid dog results in rabies, a fatal disease, the health problems posed by rodents and cockroaches might as well cause mass-scale epidemics. Rodents spread diseases such as Lymphocytic choriomeningitis, leptospirosis, among others while cockroaches serve as mechanical carriers of urinary tract infections, conjunctivitis, pneumonia, wound infections, and even food poisoning.
Therefore, elimination of stray dog population is equivalent to opening Pandora’s Box; it will only cause more problems. Successive governments, post independence have tried to eliminate dog population. But these practices didn’t bear any fruit and only resulted in overall increase in dog population and rabies related deaths. The only humane and scientific solution perhaps is a combination of immunization, neutering and proper garbage disposal facilities. What if each one of us decides to adopt one such dog? Wouldn’t our neighborhood become a better place? Municipalities and Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) must collaborate and work towards reducing the incidences of dog bite and rabies. While vaccinating dogs will make them immune to infection by rabies virus, neutering or sterilizing will prevent the population from growing. This is already happening in many parts of the country and Jaipur is presently the only city which is free from dog menace. If Jaipur can, why not rest of India?
Their mere mention or sight boils blood of some and turns pale the faces of others. Most are terrified of them, for they are often called the lions of the concrete jungle that we inhabit. Why? What did they do?
A mind boggling 82247 cases of dog bites have been reported in 2012 and over 2000 deaths have occurred due to rabies across the nation. Over 50% of the victims were small children and the elderly were second most vulnerable. As a matter of fact, India is the home to the largest number of street dogs and is also, subsequently, the country which faces the most trouble, when it comes to street dog menace. As shocking as it might sound, around a third of deaths due to rabies across the world take place in India.
When the incidences of dog bites increased, newspapers and electronic media were abuzz with latest stories and reports. These even included the blood curdling stories of how packs of dogs mauled infants in the outskirts of Indian metropolitan cities.
Quite naturally, people have taken extreme apathy and hatred towards them. In the name of safety, residents of various colonies of almost all cite went berserk on a mongrel hunting rampage. The tales of deaths of these dogs were far gorier than the incidents of dog bites itself. Young pups were packed up with fire crackers and were left to die a slow and extremely painful death as one after the other cracker burst. Yes, young puppies, the ones that people on Face book call “cute” and “adorable”. Even as the older mongrels are poisoned, others are beaten with sticks and pelted with stones until they die. But are “such steps” successful in curbing dog bites? No!
Think about it; is this the right way to find a solution? Must we use violence to curb violence? Why do we bury our humanity to send these innocent animals to grave? We have tossed aside Bible, Gita and Quran and literally become butchers by resorting to such brutality of killing dogs in the cruelest manner conceivable. Come on, what do the religions preach? May be you are a theist but even the Article 48 of the Constitution of India says the same “Have compassion for all living creatures”. Then, why don’t we follow the same principle for the street dogs? You don’t have to be an Animal Rights activist to realize the prevailing apathy towards them.
Have you ever thought what a street dog’s life is like? They wake up to find the car they have been sleeping under missing.
Being greeted with a kick here and a mock there. Their breakfast, lunch and dinner is all that they can scrounge from your neighborhood’s garbage bins. From dawn to dusk and at midnight, they roam on the streets, homeless and aimless, sometimes avoiding a car hitting them and at others, avoiding being spotted by a municipal worker.
India and its street dogs share a history that spans thousands of years. Genetic studies have established that the stray dog populations of India were derived from the local landrace, Pariah. Pariah breed was actually of Chinese ancestry, found their new home in India some 14000 years back. After migrating to India, they became indigenous and finally adapted to the Indian climate and developed resistance the diseases it offered. In fact, today they are as much Indian as the Grey Hound is British.
Still, when it comes to adopting a pet, most prefer exotic breeds, that are not used to the Indian climate and pamper them as their children. Why can’t we adopt the Indian Pariah? They are as friendly as the exotic ones are and as an advantage, they are even used to the Indian way of life and thereby require less maintenance.
Let’s say the entire population of stray dogs is wiped out somehow. What would change? Well, nothing at all, actually. Things will only get worse. With uncollected garbage piling up and drains that occasionally flood the streets, stage is set for rats and cockroaches to go on rampage, whose population were earlier controlled by these very dogs. While bite of a rabid dog results in rabies, a fatal disease, the health problems posed by rodents and cockroaches might as well cause mass-scale epidemics. Rodents spread diseases such as Lymphocytic choriomeningitis, leptospirosis, among others while cockroaches serve as mechanical carriers of urinary tract infections, conjunctivitis, pneumonia, wound infections, and even food poisoning.
Therefore, elimination of stray dog population is equivalent to opening Pandora’s Box; it will only cause more problems. Successive governments, post independence have tried to eliminate dog population. But these practices didn’t bear any fruit and only resulted in overall increase in dog population and rabies related deaths. The only humane and scientific solution perhaps is a combination of immunization, neutering and proper garbage disposal facilities. What if each one of us decides to adopt one such dog? Wouldn’t our neighborhood become a better place? Municipalities and Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) must collaborate and work towards reducing the incidences of dog bite and rabies. While vaccinating dogs will make them immune to infection by rabies virus, neutering or sterilizing will prevent the population from growing. This is already happening in many parts of the country and Jaipur is presently the only city which is free from dog menace. If Jaipur can, why not rest of India?
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