Update (March 15, 2007): An article in The Pioneer titled Spectators to mass murders narrates some heart warming incidents of dogs saving the new born human babies when the babies were abandoned by their mothers. This article also addresses some issues raised by a few commentators here, for instance,
…the national electronic media began showing clips of the acts of stomach-turning cruelty on cowering dogs. Shockingly, a section of the local media not only made no mention of these, but began reporting cases of people being bitten by dogs and stating how dangerous to humanity the latter had become.
And also
A large number was killed most savagely. The carcasses of some indicated that their throats had been slit and they had been left to bleed to death gasping for breath, or that they had been electrocuted. Every face bore the stamp of unbearable agony. If this was horrifying, infinitely more so was what happened in Mandya where strays were caught, had their heads smashed or were injected with poisons which made them die writhing.
and
As the macabre festival of mass killings raged, I wondered whether any of the perpetrators had heard of such stories or read even a minuscule fraction of the voluminous literature on man-dog relationship that exists. Then I remembered that Bangalore has had, for years, people who had made the mass killing of stray dogs their lives’ mission. They now seemed bent upon capitalising on the widespread shock and anguish caused by two grave tragedies to demand the scrapping of the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme that the BBMP had been successfully implementing in collaboration with several non-governmental organisations to reduce the number of stray dogs in the city, and the resumption of mass killing, which had been the practice until 1999.
And this exactly echoes the my view
While I am not surprised to see a sick fringe of society using every opportunity to press its savage agenda, I never expected the Government and municipal authorities of Karnataka leading the killing of stray dogs with such gusto. Nor did I expect people in authority at the Centre and in the States to remain silent spectators to the acts of horrifying cruelty that have taken place.
The previous post follows
Lack of progress often makes our thoughts and actions sub-human. We’re so used to being cruel to others and tolerating daily cruelties upon us that we’re almost numb to things happening around us or in our country. That’s why things like Nithari happen. That’s why inept governments like the present government come to power.
The insane killing of street dogs in Karnataka (especially in Bangalore) is not only appalling, it’s criminal too, and its horrifying to think that some people actually endorse such a barbarity. Despite the fact that our constitution says it’s criminal to be cruel to domestic as well as stray/wild animals, the officials in Karnataka are butchering street dogs like bloody maniacs. Whoever ordered such a campaign should either be arrested or dispatched to some mental asylum.
It all started when a pack of stray dogs killed a 4-year-old boy. Having a child I know this could be the worse nightmare parents could face and no doubt those parents must view all street dogs as demons, and it should come as no surprise if they or their near and dear ones want the dogs mercilessly killed. In their situation even I may react in the similar manner. But as people who are not close to the family we should know dogs didn’t kill the child as an act of mischief or criminal intent — only humans do that. Animals just react on their instinct, and it is really stupid to open Bedlam gates and let the psychos lose upon all dogs. They are being captured in a blood curdling manner and they are killed as if their pain is no pain.
I once had to call an NGO working for the welfare of street dogs (Friendicoes, Delhi) because there was a bitch in our locality who had just given birth to a few puppies and in a nervous state she was attacking all the kids of the locality. Since these people work for dogs so they cause the least trauma to the animal while capturing it. Still, the way that bitch wailed and protested, I kept crying for a long time for making that call. So you can just imagine what happens to a street dog when the municipality guys (who are anyway half-mad even when they are dealing with humans) catch it with their long poles and nooses.
In Karnataka they don’t even care whether they are killing the animals properly or not. Sometimes the throat is slit and the animal is let lose to bleed and die. Sometimes extremely poor quality of poison is given that prolongs the agonizing death for even days. On many occasions they throw many dogs into a deep pit, pour petrol on them and set them ablaze. Can you see any sense? What does it tell about us as a society?
Killing animals for a purpose is one thing and killing them inhumanly just because you can (or for some political reason it seems over there) is another. Whose fault is it that there are so many street dogs around? For years they have been talking about controlling the dog population but haven’t done much. There is so much garbage on our streets that stray dogs are bound to breed. Then, every Tom, Dick and Harry brings home a pet dog on a whim and then upon realizing that it is not that easy to keep a pet they abandon the dogs that eventually contribute to the escalation. Every descendent of a street dog was once a pet dog as street dogs are not natural animals unlike their counterparts in the wild. People should have to obtain a license to keep a pet and it should be criminal offence to abandon your dog just like that.
Neutralizing them is costly but that’s the only option we’ve got. The government wastes so much tax payers’ money on stupid populist schemes, why cannot it allocate a few hundred crores on this campaign? I’m sure it’ll be a one time investment, as once the population is controlled and once the necessary measures are taken to keep the streets free of litter and garbage and small time shops and restaurants are barred from throwing food in the open, the dog population will remain in check automatically. In the meantime, whoever is responsible for the current massacre shouldn’t go unpunished. It’ll be shameful for the country.
