Animal lovers have flagged concerns over the growing tendency among people to attack stray dogs due to fear of getting bitten, after the recent fatal attacks by canines on humans, especially children, reported from elsewhere in the country.
They are complaining that people are resorting to violence against abandoned canines as they feel assault could deter the animal from attacking humans. There have been several reports about stray dogs getting injured after being attacked by people.
Activist and squad member of Puducherry government’s ABC programme, K. Balasubramanian said there is a growing tendency among the people to treat dogs more suspiciously. There is an effort to portray street dogs as dangerous animals. In fact, they are guardians of streets in several places, he added.
“Just a few days ago we received complaints about dogs roaming in Nellithope area with human inflicted wounds. We have taken up the issue with authorities. The dogs live with the wounds and some of them die without getting proper treatment, “ he said.
Socialising with dogs
Socialising stray dogs by feeding them with food and water is the best way to keep them calm and as friends of the community, he said adding the long-term solution to reduce their population was proper implementation of the provisions of Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules 2001 for sterilization and immunization, he said.
G. Ashok Raj, a civil engineer and president for Voice for Voiceless, complains that unethical ways adopted by people to dislodge dogs from localities are surfacing from several places.
Mr. Raj wrote to the Chief Secretary last week pointing out instances of cruel methods being used to catch stray canines.
He had sought action against the Villianur commune panchayat authorities.
Instances of dogs getting seriously injured because of assault have become common. The dogs get aggressive when they are stressed due to lack of food, water, proper care and intimidation by humans, he said.
No proper treatment
Several dogs also get injured after getting hit by vehicles. There is no facility available for proper treatment of the injured animal.
The injured dogs are often unattended and left on the streets. Several puppies die on the road, he added.
The government should revive the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to take care of the welfare of abandoned animals. The ABC should be done as per rules and the sterilized dogs rehabilitated at the same place, he added.
‘Licence mandatory’
Mr. Balasubramanian said the government should make licensing of pet dogs compulsory. After making license mandatory, the civic bodies should ensure that the pet dogs are not abandoned on the streets after a point of time.
“Letting out high breed dogs in the streets complicates the scenario. It is the high breed dog that becomes more aggressive. The local bodies should keep a tab on the pets and impose fine on those abandoning licensed pets,” he added.
In the context of cruelty to animals reported, a delegation of animal rights activists on Sunday met District Collector-in-charge D. Manikandan and submitted a representation expressing their concern.
Take stern action
Mr. Balasubramanian said they requested the Collector to conduct the ABC programme in a proper manner and take stern action against those showing cruelty to the animal. The delegation also requested the Collector to enforce compulsory licensing of pet dogs and streamline functioning of pet shops.
According to an official who retired from Local Administration Department, the government should conduct an audit of the ABC programme conducted so far.
“A proper audit should be conducted to ascertain whether funds were utilised properly for ABC because we are not seeing the desired results. The population of stray dogs was growing, and people are having genuine fears about getting bitten by the dogs. The birth control programme and vaccination are the only answers. The government should ensure that funds are properly utilised and not swindled in the name of ABC programme,” he added.
Published - March 26, 2023 10:42 pm IST
