A pair of giant condoms walking on the road caught the attention of motorists and pedestrians on Tuesday. Animal welfare activists adopted the unique style to create awareness on the importance of sterilising cats and dogs.
‘Sterilise dogs. They can’t use condoms’ read the placards held aloft by the two volunteers of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) standing outside Semmozhi Poonga on Cathedral Road.
“Millions of dogs and cats suffer on the streets or languish in severely-crowded animal shelters. We urge the sterilisation of animals on the streets,” said Chani Singh, PETA India campaign coordinator.
According to an activist at PETA, a female dog and her offspring can give birth to 67,000 pups in six years while a cat and its offspring can give birth to 4.2 lakh kittens in seven years.
Abandoned stray dogs and cats struggle to survive and in many cases, get hit by vehicles or abused by people. Killing the dogs and leaving them on the outskirts of the city is not an alternative, said Ms. Singh.
An autorickshaw driver who stopped to catch a glimpse of the promotion said, “The government must take measures to handle stray dog menace. After 10 p.m., we are not able walk freely on the roads fearing the dogs.”
After sterilisation, the dogs and cats are returned to their areas as these animals are territory-oriented.
PETA along with Blue Cross Society has written to the Mayor seeking remedial measure for the problem. When asked about the steps undertaken by PETA in Chennai for sterilisation, Ms. Singh said the organisation lacked resources like veterinary vans. Hence, they support other organisations involved in sterilisation of these animals.
S.B.S Vasan, a businessman from Bangalore, said he was fascinated by the promotion.
“Rarely does one come across a campaign targeted towards sterilisation of dogs and cats. Sometime back, a friend of mine adopted a sterilised dog,” he said.
Keywords: PETA, animal rights, dogs sterilisation
Raman - can you please explain your conclusions with population statistics
Viswanath - If you are in Chennai, please visit Blue Cross for a better understanding
of the situation. It is true that dogs are put to death in western countries, if not
claimed by the owners, (please note that these are not street dogs, but dogs that
have strayed out and got lost - in most cases) but it is only a figment of your
imagination that foreign fund providers are conspiring to keep stray dogs alive in
India.
Sterilisation of dogs is NOT the answer to roaming killer dogs that terrorize our streets. In
any western country, a stray dog is put to death within five days if not claimed by the
owner. The same countries pretend to be saviours and donate foreign exchange to keep
stray dogs on our streets! A few well meaning but immature local activists are ready to take
up this short sighted cause and line their pockets in the process. Every day children and
adults alike are being attacked by aggressive stray dogs all over the country. The
government must have the courage to prohibit influx of foreign funds for such self
destructive causes. If western countries love our strays so much, we can readily export
them to their homes.
I dis agree with your statement that Indians should control their population . Our population has a very small growth rate compared with that of Europeans. Just imagine these Britishers are from small island equivalent to the size of Tamilnadu. Now their race is found every where USA, CAnada, Australia, Newzealand, South Africa List is endless.. Compare them with India who has just doubled its population in 50 years ..
With regards to Dogs, we must take care of them . Their population must also grow , but at a controlled rate. Dogs has to be fed properly and its health has to be monitored at regular intervals.
Sterilisation of dogs is necessary because the present species of dogs is multiplying at an unrestrained rate and also the conditions present in cities make their survival extremly difficult. There is also a possibility of a contagion because a higher proportion of these dogs feed on the most infested of foods and thus are carriers of dangerous micro-organisms.
Humans , by analogy, should also practise sterilisation as the human species is growing at an alarmingly unrestrained rate , which puts the other animal species at a great disadvantage . This explosion of human population has driven so many animal species to extinction and thus has created an ecological imbalance.
It is time Indians practised population control. It is time Indians understood the importance of safe sex practices . It is time sex education became mandatory.
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