There have been many reports of stray dogs attacking humans, but why does the most human-friendly animal turn ferocious?
Basically it is because they are left hungry and thirsty on the streets; there are no caretakers or very few people who care for them, animal experts said.Speaking with reference to an incident reported on February 28 in which a month-old baby boy was mauled to death by stray dogs in a district hospital in Sirohi district of Rajasthan, the experts said that the incident needs to be studied in depth.
Why are there no water vessels being kept on the streets? Why is there no food available for them? Why are they not being vaccinated and why do drivers continue to drive at top speed even when they see these dogs roaming on the roads?
The cruelty being shown by humans towards these animals makes them ferocious.
Arjun Gothwal, manager of a dog rescue centre called Help in Suffering, said, "We generally get 60-70 complaints daily of dog menace from different societies in Jaipur, we bring them to our centre, feed them, treat them and vaccinate them."
"We have analysed that most of the times, when they come to our centre, they are hungry and thirsty and hence become ferocious unable to bear the hunger pangs. So humans need to care for these animals."
In the Sirohi incident the infant was picked up when he was reportedly sleeping next to his mother. His body was found outside the hospital ward. CCTV footage showed that two dogs went inside the TB ward of the hospital and one of them returned with the infant.
Animal rights experts said the only long-term solution to the issue is sterilisation and vaccination of stray dogs.
Gothwal said that the incidents of dog attacks are very sad and tragic. Dogs are friendly, social animals who would not normally attack a human. We have hundreds of dogs at our centre and they are all very friendly and have never attacked us, he added.
However, at times, people shout at stray dogs, kick or beat them with sticks, throw stones at them and abuse them in other ways that make them feel severely threatened.
Radhika Suryavanshi, campaigns manager, PETA India said, "An effective sterilisation program can help prevent this as stray dogs are surgically neutered and then located in their own area. They can also be vaccinated against rabies. Since territories are not left vacant, new dogs cannot enter."
Suryavanshi added: "Over time, as the dogs die natural deaths, their numbers dwindle. The dog population becomes stable, non-breeding, non-aggressive and rabies-free, and it gradually decreases over a period of time. It is the duty of municipalities under the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules, 2001 to run an effective dog sterilisation program and has been a requirement for 22 years -- and if all municipalities had been taken this lawful duty seriously, there would hardly be any dogs on the road today," she said.
Covid made things worse:
Covid pandemic has made things worst. Before the pandemic, stray dogs were part of everyone's daily life. They were found everywhere at all times but the co-existence was perfectly peaceful. However, Covid changed it all. People stopped going out. There were no leftovers to be given away. Restaurants had shut down and stray dogs went without food for days.
Rana, a canine breeder explains, "During the pandemic, dogs desperately went around looking for food. The moment they saw any human on the streets, they would run towards him or her, begging for food. People --who had already become extremely conscious of getting infected --started shooing away the strays. They would pelt stones, beat them with sticks and even throw acid on them. This created a sense of hostility between dogs and humans and that is when the attacks began."
"Covid also killed compassion and man became an animal in a bid for survival," he added.
Radhika Suryavanshi of PETA says, "Dogs are friendly, social animals who would not normally attack a human. Yet when people shout at stray dogs, kick or beat them, throw rocks at them, toss hot water or acid on them, poison them or abuse them in other ways that make them feel severely threatened, they may feel the need to protect themselves or their puppies. Fights between dogs may occur when dogs are competing for a mate or trying to protect their puppies, and rarely, can a human be caught in the middle."
Shaurya Kulshreshtha, a resident of a high rise building in Jankipuram, Lucknow where five incidents of dog attacks have taken place in the past two months, substantiates this when he says, "Stray dogs have always been living in the compound. The first attack took place when a child, while playing, started throwing stones at a puppy. The mother dog reacted and attacked the child.Since then, every time when the residents see a dog, they beat it with sticks. The security guard has also been asked to beat the strays. We cannot control their entry into the compound which has three entry points."
The residents in the high rise building are becoming increasingly hostile towards strays. They feel that strays are a threat to their safety and security and also litter the compound.
The increase in the strays population can also be attributed to the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown.
As an animal expert says. "During the lockdown, there was minimal vehicular traffic and puppies born during this period survived which added to the canine population."
Several NGOs, dealing with animals, are of the opinion that a sustained awareness campaign is needed to encourage the adoption of strays and particularly the Indie breed. "A dog is a dog. In fact, Indie dogs are sturdier, more affectionate and are low on maintainability but people feel that owning a foreign breed adds to their status," said a member of one such NGO.
(Inputs from IANS)
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