Kashmir is finding its stray dogs too ferocious to tame.
Bred on an estimated “30 lakh kg of offal” or chicken waste annually, these canines are attacking the residents when not able to find their food.
The incidents of dog bites have increased in the winter months forcing the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) to start a fresh animal birth control programme for stray dogs.
Dr. Muhammad Salim Khan, the Head of Department of the Community Medicine at Srinagar’s premiere Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital (SMHS), told The Hindu , “It's (dog attack) increasing. The SMHS has treated 5,262 cases of dog bites in the last 10 months.”
‘City outskirts worst hit’
The situation is worse in the outskirts where the municipal corporation is not that active is checking the menace. The peripheral hospitals of Directorate of Health Services Kashmir receive around 25,000 cases of dog bites every year, said Dr. Salim Khan. “In comparison, the SMHS has received only 10-15% cases,” he added.
According to Dr. Khan, the reason behind the ferocity of the dogs is the high-protein offal they are fed regularly because of the dietary habits of residents of Kashmir, where mutton and chicken are a staple diet.
According to official figures, Kashmir imports approximately 5.5 crore chickens from Haryana and Punjab, while around 36 lakh birds are produced locally. “In a chicken weighing 1.5 kg, almost half (750 grams) is thrown as offal. Based on this calculation, Kashmiris annually feed 30 lakh kg of chicken waste to stray dogs,” said Dr. Khan.
Alarmed by the rising number of dog bite cases, SMC Commissioner Dr. Shafqat Khan has launched a fresh animal-birth control exercise in the city.
The SMC has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Unemployed Veterinary Doctors’ Association to “sterilise 200 dogs a week”.
Sterilisation
“The move will not only tackle the growing menace of dog bites, but also provide employment to the youths of the State. Scores of dog bite cases are registered every month, especially in winter as the food grows scarce,” said Dr. Shafqat Khan.
Dr. Salim Khan, however, is not very convinced with the measures adopted by the SMC. “Our dog sterilisation programme is grossly inadequate as by the time 50 dogs are sterilised, 1,000 more are born,” he said.
