Comments on: Proving again how savage we are

By: Cull the Kids Instead at Sleisha Cuppax Fundaes (w)Only

Cull the Kids Instead at Sleisha Cuppax Fundaes (w)Only — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 18:03:33 +0000

[...] Right. These days the BMP is klling stray dogs. This has a lot of animal lovers unhappy, leading to many anguished blogposts (two examples here and here). And inevitably these posts attract commentors who shrilly and hysterically go ‘But don’t you know that stray dogs are killing children? Are you more worried about dogs or children?’ Practically the only thing missing is the actual statement ‘Will someone please think of the children?‘ [...]

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 07:10:27 +0000

I think the media has to be blamed more and more for the atrocious things they show. Why can’t it see that showing positive things can actually make them more popular? Why not hype up animals saving human lives?
The brutality shown by people on defenseless animals is appalling. Makes me sick. Of course the death of the poor innocent children is also too much to take. Enter our cruel, illogical mentality – can’t punish the ones who did it? Let’s punish everyone. Look at Godhra. Case in point.
Its too depressing.

By: Janaki

Janaki — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 07:51:45 +0000

Let me clarify that last bit – you need to get to 70% of the total population WITHIN 6 MONTHS for ABC to be effective – not a few thousand in one locality this year, a bit more in another locality next year as is happening now. Also please consider we DO NOT know what the mortality rate is after these animals are released. Some NGOs release the females within 48 hours of the operation. When a neutered male in released back into its territory and its neighbour is an intact male, what happens to the status quo? What happens to the dominance hierarchy among sterilized and non-sterilized females? It’s debatable whether it is doing any good to the welfare of the animal when you take it, put it at a disadvantage by neutering it and then return it to fight with its neighbours for its space under the sun. Do you think a recovering female 48 hours after her operation is in a fit condition to keep her territory? There is no post-operation, post-release monitoring taking place anywhere to know what the hell is going on. There are too many unanswered questions and yet this is the National Policy – sole method of controling the stray population in India.

Besides in lots of places, people do not want the sterilized dogs back. So what does the van driver do? Release it elsewhere – where he doesn’t get stoned or lynched. What happens to the basic premise of ABC then – that the animals are returned to their territories to prevent other dogs from taking it over? If you do not release the animal back when it came from or it dies because of post-op compliactions, then it is equal to removing the animal from its territory and this is the reason the animal welfare orgs were criticizing the killing policy (besides the brutality of course). I’m yet to see how these dogs are identified as coming from Sardar Patel Road and not Mahatma Gandhi Road. The only id they have is a punched ear hole that says they have been neutered.

Also please consider this – if someone feeds a stray dog (I know several people who feed up to 40 strays in their locality every day) he/she is teaching the dog to equate humans with food. Let’s say this person goes out of town for a few days and there is no one to feed the animals; a child walks down that road eating biscuits. What do the dogs do? What if the child refuses?

By: Sushruta

Sushruta — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 05:40:20 +0000

Amrit, I live in Bangalore and can vouch what you say is true. There are enough videos, photographs of inhuman and illegal catching, killing and dumping of dogs in the most barbaric fashion. Don’t bother about the dog haters, people even supported Hitler. Removing/Euthanising diseased/rabid/ferocious dog, controlling dog population by ABC, effective garbage disposal which means NO garbage on street, ARV, adoption, more govt shelters is the way out and not just start killing. WHO has noted that killing does not render results, ABC does though it takes some time to show drastic results as 80% of the dogs would be required to be sterlized.

By: Janaki

Janaki — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 02:31:48 +0000

This seems a bit ridiculous (I didn’t intend to sound personal or cause offence; apologies if they were) – Amrit and I aren’t really speaking in 2 voices. We are saying more or less the same thing but from different points of view. We do agree something needs to be but the brutality is sadistic and criminal. The authorities don’t seem to have the ability to euthanize for various political and practical reasons. Both of us are saying that irresponsible dog ownership is to blame so (I’m saying) while ABC may work for pets, it’s totally futile to grab the millions of strays for ABC. ABC is not the panacea for all the problems concerning strays. And as long as we have an ineffective dog control program such as this, you are going to see people’s attitude towards them being hostile. So to change attitudes you need a program that addresses people’s concerns and fears. Back to square one. Am I making sense?

By: Ashish

Ashish — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 21:52:03 +0000

Wow Amrit. People seems to be just incensed by your post. I completely see your POV. I personally wouldn’t mind culling BUT with minimum possible pain and efficiency AND proactive approach to avoid such things in future. If people need to experience to feel how it feels to be ripped by dog, they also need to experience to feel how it feels to be burned alive. Surely humans are superior, but we cannot show superiority by being barbaric ourselves.

By: Amrit

Amrit — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 17:01:36 +0000

@Janaki: I’m sorry if I sounded judgemental regarding your dogs. I know it came out wrong. I don’t want to go on and on and to a point I understand your attitude, and I also understand that the problem needs to be solved…but in a more humane way — just as we expect it when we’re in trouble. Imagine how you’ll feel when you’re targeted ruthlessly just because you are you. Unlike humans, whatever animals do — perverted or not perverted — has a reason, whatever it is. Now, I’m not saying don’t kill the dogs even if they are coming at you. I’ve been persistently saying here, the problem is with the attitude, not with the killing of dogs. Street dogs are a human problem.

@Terry: Thanks Terry. The flak is fine. We all have our opinions. I wrote something and some people didn’t agree with it, that’s all. Debate is a sign of vibrant society. Cute dog, by the way .

By: terri

terri — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 15:40:25 +0000

Amrit,

I’m sorry for all the flak you’re receiving.

I agree that the underlying issue and the point you’re trying to make is the way we treat animals. As anybody who’s been around dogs knows, it takes a lot to break a dog’s spirit. As a species, dogs are forgiving, despite the intentional / unintentional abuse heaped on them.

Neutering and spaying would cut down on overpopulation and territorial aggression. I think pet owners should take the first step toward responsibility by spaying / neutering their own pets first.

By: Janaki

Janaki — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 11:42:16 +0000

Although I’m not advocating killing, there’s something called euthanasia which means putting an animal down humanely. The Humane society of the US has a manual on how to do this. The argument is not whether to kill or not to kill. The argument is whether we all share the same vision for our stray dogs (and cities) – that strays do not belong on the streets. If we agree, then you need a multi-pringed strategy. No. 1 is pet licensing. The main contributors to the street dog population are abandoned dogs, unwanted puppies that are left on the roads, parks, highways, wherever. Healthy pets breed like rabbits; diseased half starved animals don’t, whether there is garbage or not. You cannot control stray dogs by ABC alone or euthanizing/killing alone. You need to do several things ALL AT THE SAME TIME to make it viable.

If my dogs which are well-fed, (I think well-looked after although you obviously would cast aspersions on that) outdoors dogs with ample space to run around are so perverted by me, how do you expect stray dogs, which are half-starved, diseased, abused, in some cases crippled and traumatized, to behave?

PS If you read my article about the gharial you’ll find I have dealt with how we screw our environment and are dooming several riverine species in one shot.

By: Amrit

Amrit — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 10:53:08 +0000

@Rahul: Interesting point. I wonder why people don’t go on a killing spree when a group of dogs kills a kitten. Or I wonder why we don’t go on a killing spree when a group of protesters sets a bus on fire and kills school children. I wonder why we don’t go on a killing spree when psychopaths kill children. Going by your logic the Nithari guys shouldn’t have been arrested because children are anyway dying everyday and they are being mistreated everyday so why all this hullabaloo? Keep thinking.

@Janaki: I don’t really understand the point of your article. Do you mean to say stray dogs should be mercilessly killed because of all the attributes you’ve mentioned in your article? Where is this zeal when humans commit similar atrocities? You’ve almost humanized dogs with the way you’ve written your article . The same mentality gave rise to Nazism, or for that matter the Gujarat riots — that’s how brutal killings are justified. Have you written about how we have completely screwed up our environment? Or is it because dogs don’t have words to express themselves so they are an easy target?

Having said that, I know stray dog problem is a drastic situation and needs to be tackled ASAP. It’s just that I don’t agree with the method and the attitude.