stray-dogs-can-just-not-be-wished-away-must-not-be

The Supreme Court’s blanket directive to the Delhi Government to take off all the stray dogs from the streets of Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR) has drawn varied responses. While people at large have welcomed the decision, various animal welfare organisations like the People for Animals (PFA) and People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) have disagreed.

 

On the face of it, the SC order is a much sought after relief by the common people who feel harassed and threatened by stray dogs, who are seen to be a threat to public safety. Also some recent incidents, which surfaced in the public domain about some people dying helplessly with rabies after having suffered dog bites have also raised public concern and ire. The SC has addressed all such concerns after taking suo moto notice of some incidents.

 

The moot point is can the stray dogs really be wished away? Can they really be taken off the streets and how many of them? Ideally, there should have been a time-bound scientific study to explore the possibilities of removing the stray dogs from the streets of Delhi and the NCR.

 

There is an estimated population of about eight lakh street dogs in Delhi. Only thing that is certain is that there are a lot of stray dogs everywhere and not just in Delhi/ NCR, but across the country wherever there is human habitation.

 

If canine attacks/ bites that at times are fatal and/ or followed by rabies can take place in Delhi/ NCR, they can take place anywhere across the country. Such incidents do take place off and on, here and there. Then why restrict the directive to Delhi/ NCR only?

 

But is the issue really so serious and alarming to warrant the removal of the entire stray dog population? Not necessarily. Yes, there are incidents and even one single incident of a dog bite, particularly when it leads to rabies/ death is unacceptable. It must not happen. Every single life is precious.

 

In a country with such a huge population, it will be impossible to wish away stray animals, dogs in particular. There can be other alternative options, which can be exercised, besides the physical removal of these animals from the human habitations. Even physical removal is not an ordinary thing to do. There will be huge logistic challenges involved.

 

First, it will be a humongous task to pick up all the dogs and remove them. Second question is where to keep them? There is no point in picking up the dogs from one place and throwing them at another without proper shelter and a fence. Otherwise they will soon return to the same area they have been picked up from or can be a threat, in the new area. 

 

Also read: Stray dog menace: SC initiates suo moto cognisance

 

Setting up dog shelters for such a humongous number of dogs will take a lot of time, may be years. Building shelters from where the dogs cannot escape will need huge infrastructure that will come at huge expenses. Then maintaining those dogs by providing them with proper feed and maintaining hygiene in the places they may be kept is again not an ordinary task. Even a small cow shelter with about 100 animals requires so many human beings to maintain. Imagine what will be the human resource requirement for maintaining such dog shelters.

 

First and foremost thing for the government should be to sterilise as many stray dogs as possible so that they do not breed too much. After all, the dogs do not come from outside, they breed locally. Their breeding can be controlled. Second, an equally important thing to be done is to vaccinate all the stray dogs with anti-rabies vaccines. Both these things are again not so easy to do, but these are more practicable than completely moving out the entire dog population from one place to another.

 

As already mentioned, even a single incident of dog bite and a single case of rabies is unacceptable, at the same time there is a need to assess the level of threat that the stray dogs pose. What is the tendency of stray dogs, which attack humans? Majority of stray dogs do not have the tendency to attack humans. Assuming that all dogs are aggressive and all dogs are rabid is a grossly wrong assumption.

 

Ecologically speaking, dogs are an important part of the ecosystem-chain—an important fact that is grossly ignored. They act as natural and organic scavengers for huge quantities of waste. There have also been studies that dogs which are fed properly, are mostly not aggressive.

 

In fact, several studies have suggested that pet dogs are environmentally more hazardous than stray dogs. While stray dogs live, survive and feed in the natural environment, the quantity of food, particularly the meat, the pet dogs consume adds substantially to the carbon emissions. Point here is not to draw any comparisons or parallels between the pet and stray dogs. The point is that the matter needs to be treated and dealt with more rationally.

 

Yes, the instant and spontaneous reaction to any incident of dog bite or a rabies case is to “kill them all”, but killing them all is not really the rational solution. Rather it is no solution at all. Any solution that is not feasible and practical, is not really a solution. It is like lynching an entire population for the crime of an individual.

 

The issue is serious and needs to be dealt with all seriousness and sensitivity. It is not the issue of “sentiment” at all. It is a matter of rationality, feasibility and sensitivity towards animal life. There are an estimated eight lakh stray dogs in Delhi alone. Catching all of them and shifting them to “some other place” is no small thing to do. Dogs, after all, even if they are “stray” have a life like human beings. Treating their entire population as rabid is certainly not the solution. It needs a rethink. It needs a review. It needs patience. It needs balance. It needs an expert and scientific approach.

 

Wishing away an entire population of dogs is practically impossible. They just can’t be wished away. And they don’t need to be wished away either.