At the time of creating the planets, the creator has created only earth as a planet where life is possible. While creating life on the earth the creator has created beautiful but a variety of living and non-living objects to which we also called nature. Human being and animals are one of those beautifully created objects by the creator on the planet. The fact is that the whole nature, human-being and animals are interdependent on each other but the creator has created human beings extra intelligent and sensitive or can say since the day of creation of human beings they have never been alone because of these loving and compassionate animals. We can name human beings as superspecies also as they have extra thinking ability, the decision-making ability to choose the good and bad for their lives, unlike the animals. Only human beings diversify their growth and produce a civilization. When we say civilization and diversify growth that has entirely different facet such as to conduct /lifestyle, infrastructure, education, respect for relations, profession etc. which is collectively involved in making an effective civilization by human-beings. Whereas, the creator has just given them a loving heart and brain works in a certain manner only unlike human beings.
As the human being progressed and becoming civilized, they started developing apathy and neglected the other beautiful and loving creations of the creator. The result of that apathy is that they started pushing brutally other creations to clear their way and started eliminating whatever came as a hurdle in their progress. Eventually, the other species also started reacting against human beings in order to save themselves and then started the fight for “Survival vs Progress” on the planet earth. This may be the nature’s way to balance all kind of apathy which human being started showing against the other creatures of nature. It is very necessary that the human being should understand that harming animals or harming any creation of the creator may also have fatal consequences for them.
In the name of modernization, the living conditions are gradually taking bad shapes and law and order are in the soup as per the current scenario. Nowadays, cruelty with street animals, environment, underprivileged human-beings forced to living in slums and pets become very common. The government is trying to make effective rules to save the planet as a whole and the environment also against the cruelty of human-beings in the name of progress for many decades. The social activists have to work day and night for the fulfilment of basic needs of the people. The pathetic part is that these social activists are fighting for such a set of people who are not even able to get basic needs which is their right also. There are many nonprofit organizations and animal welfare organizations who are working to get justice not only for human beings but also for the animals. This shows a humongous decline in the moral values in which India was the rich in all ways since ancient times. The human nature is of blaming to the existing system. They make noises every now and then to follow the system according to rules and regulations framed by law under the constitutions. And those laws also get amended from time to time.
Despite making strict rules and regulations with amended laws to save the environment, animals or any natural assets, human beings are continuously harming them in the name of progress. Due to the lack of effective laws in India, the cruelty against stray animals is increasing day-by-day. The attacks on animals, especially dogs, really matter of concern and which Indians are not ready to take responsibility. The concern is getting worse when people catch all cruelty on CCTV or on mobile cameras but never take any concrete step to rescue them. That really bothers me, friends. The increase in the population of stray dogs, cats, cows, donkeys and pigs has made the situation worse. The most pathetic part is that people catch all the cruelty on such animals through CCTV and Mobile Camera to post it on social media but never take any step on the spot to stop all these cruelties. The victim animal starts behaving aggressively because of physical torture and then ill-revert the same on human beings, which is not an ideal situation for the existing society. We really need to think seriously about such actions.
There are certain animals that started taking shelter on the street and they may be abandoned pets. Such pets are completely dependent on human beings for their day to day needs in life. Like food, water, shelter, medical aid including love and compassion.
Still, there are lacs of animals across India who is suffering in the absence of proper care and medical aid. Due to weather consequences, some catch diseases and some also died due to lack of veterinary help. The homelessness of any animal in our country is disastrous which is very complicated to overcome. There are numbers of solutions also for this disastrous situation. This is also a fact that such street or stray animals become very dangerous for society. One among the disastrous effect is dog bites or can say one of the common issues in residential areas and a big reason behind cruelty inflicted on them.
The most common question among many is why do stray dogs exist? It is said that many of such meandering dogs are into existence since 14000 years ago. Yes, they are into existence since the existence of human beings on the earth. The breed is called Pariah dogs which are very common in Asian and African continent’s countries. They have no permanent shelters but in urban areas, many of such dogs have started finding their shelter on the garbage, outside the residences, slums, Shopping complexes, commercial premises etc. The most common point for dogs is the area where collectively garbage is dumped. As eating is their main chores so finding food in garbage becomes easy for them. The nature of dogs is to live in a herd, therefore, living on garbage heap becomes their colony and a group of dog’s starts living on such garbage bed is luxury for them. The area where these animals start creating their colonies is commonly affected by infection and bacteria where these animals catch rabies and other fatal diseases. The use of plastic for garbage disposal which these stray animals eat is another big reason for the abdominal diseases for these street kings.
On the other hand, in India, there are people who think feeding street dogs is a pious deed. Some of the Indians deliberately make chapattis for dogs to feed them in order to get their blessings for success in their lifetime. Such dogs started living outside the residences and become dependent for survival on such families, though they are not pets they get a very excellent treatment as a family member by certain sets of residences who feed them on daily basis. Until and unless any calamity occurs they do not leave such places and continue living in society, they also became faithful towards the kindness of human beings.
The breed of some dogs can be seen in any slum of urban areas. People migrated from small cities in search of work and then they start encroachment on the unused land where the herd of dogs is already living. These people develop slums as their temporary residences. Such meandering dogs get the wastes to eat from such slums and they start living nearby such houses. The animals in such areas are also a victim of a beating and some of the other kind of cruelty. Because of which they got wounds and then those untreated wounds become fatal for the dogs and also make the environment infectious.
In the same way, there are many dogs that start living outside the shops, offices, schools or any such commercial premises. The dogs in such areas are dangerous as sometimes they become wild and bite to the commuters. This is very dangerous at times. The local bodies sometimes take away to the government shelters to such dangerous dogs; they either treat them or kill them if they found the dogs are dangerous for society.
Not only the dogs but other animals like Cows, Donkeys, cats, pigs and Monkeys that live on streets sick and injured are equally fatal for the society. In India, feeding street animals is termed as a pious deed. But people never took care of the other measures to keep them healthy and on the other hand hygiene is always an issue in our country while feeding such animals. They are bound to feed themselves in a very dangerous and fatal environment where they consume plastics, chemicals and so many such things which develop skin diseases and cancers in organs which they suffer but never complaints to the society. But as a matter of fact, such infectious animals are fatal for society.
This serious issue and long-lasting problems can also be solved with the help of certain measures like by adopting animals from some shelters or from the streets instead of buying them from any breeders or from any professional pet stores. Such a step will help in preventing unwanted animals as they will get reproduced by always sterilizing companion animals.
The deaths from rabies in India have been constantly a reason from many long decades, without any noted declining rate, and there are no such reported deaths because in India rabies is still not a notified disease. As per the report of the World Health Organization (WHO) approximate 35 million stray dogs live in India. The country is facing approximately 18,000 to 20,000 cases of rabies every year. A report also claims that India has the largest percentage of deaths because of rabies occurred due to a dog bite. The WHO also reveals that approximately 45% of deaths occurred from rabies in entire South- East Asia out of which about 36% of the world’s deaths from rabies occurred in India only. I personally feel folks; this is an alarming figure, isn’t it?
In March 2016, civic authorities from Mumbai presented a case in the Supreme Court that dog bites in Mumbai have taken 434 lives in the time period of 1994 to 2015. According to reports, more than 1.3 million people were bitten by dogs in Mumbai during this period. In November 2016, the Supreme Court ordered the Kerala government to stop the vigilante from the slaughter of stray dogs. The law was strict but the result was not very much effective thereafter the same cruelty was continued.
In India, Kolkata has a population of more than 80,000 stray dogs, according to the animal welfare organizations in the city. But the number is constantly rising due to a sluggish sterilization drive. Activists in the city blame the administration for not pushing animal control policies, including spaying and neutering, which would have possibly helped to avoid some of the current problems. Similarly in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh there are around 16,000 stray dogs in the city and according to officials, the populations have increased by 3,000 due to failed efforts by Municipal Corporation and local bodies in administering sterilization and other vaccinations to reduce the population.
There is an organization called WSD, which states that “Mumbai has over 12 million human residents, of whom over half are slum-dwellers. At least 500 tons of garbage remains uncollected daily. Therefore conditions are perfect for supporting a particularly large population of street dogs”. This is very apparent in the Mumbai city. The railway station and state bus stands are heavily populated with such street dogs.
The main problem caused by such street dogs is rabies as the dogs are the common carrier and is a fatal disease and easily get transmitted to human beings. A survey has claimed that India has the highest number of human rabies deaths in the world and estimated almost at 35,000 deaths per year.
As the street animals do not have any shelter and they are habituated of mating in open. It is the wisdom of human being to respect that personal moment to the animals but instead of ignoring those in such stages people start throwing stones on them. The victims of such people are usually dogs. This frustration and anxiety among the pair of dogs cause bites and in the environment, they usually get bitten accidentally. There are certain cases of dog bites when female dogs that are overprotective with their puppies got aggressive and bite people who just wanted to love and care for their puppies. Another big reason to show cruelty against dogs is the time when they cry or howling. In Indian, mostly, howling and crying of any dog is termed as inauspicious. Without understanding the reason for their crying and howling they got bitten and sometimes they became dangerous and out of fear or in self-defence, they bite to the commuters.
The measures are taken to minimize the population of stray dogs:- There are many local government organizations that are working on the removal of such dogs for many decades. But all these ideas they are getting from many developed countries and the strange action at the most is that they are taking all measures without studying or understanding the fatal consequences out of it. In India, many dogs get killed by some of the government organizations in the name of preventing the society from the fatal diseases but they are easily replaced by the new generation of dogs as they are growing very fast. Therefore, killing dogs can be an alternative to decrease the population of street dogs. One study claims that dogs have most high breeding rates. According to their study in three years, two dogs can multiply the population to 300 dogs, unbelievable isn’t it?
The dogs are the species that also have a very effective understanding of their territory so they also fixed with the geographical boundaries. So, even if the dogs could have been removed from one territory, in the unfilled area, another group of dogs starts ruling. Therefore, dogs have a very opportunistic kind of quality to survive.
On highways stray dogs are the reason for massive accidents - light vehicle drivers are the victims and got serious injuries and whereas dogs themselves are also a victim of rushed heavy vehicles like loaded trucks and tempos who kill them mercilessly. The government has no records of such accidents caused by stray animals on highways and roads.
These animals are also one of the major reasons for accidents, so, there is an immense need to acknowledge these problems for human well being also. Though on social media every second day we also see that there are some group of young people who are caring for the dogs. There are people who provide free medical treatment for the wounded dogs or suffering from any fatal diseases or skin diseases.
While reading the articles on the accidents occurred due to road accidents, I have encountered one interesting interview of a driver named Bhanu from Bengaluru who served both Ola and Uber, the largest cab services in India. He told to the media person that “They come out at night. They chase cars and bikes and sometimes jump right in front of vehicles; I’ve run over a lot of dogs. It doesn’t feel good but I can’t risk an accident by suddenly halting my car,” he added by giving an excuse of such an offence. It is really a matter of being inhumane to crush a dog because he is running after your vehicle. In some last five years, acts of cruelty against stray dogs and animals in India have increased very much. Also, in case the voice on issues by any animal welfare organization against such cruelties is raised being forgotten soon by the people.
To save the stray dogs it is very essential to create certain animal welfare organization that can relocate such dogs at safer areas and must provide free medical care and proper food to them. There must be an easy documentation policy where people can easily adopt them too for their proper care.
We are aware that there is no central agency where all criminal offensive cases can be acknowledged well. There are some NGOs and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, People for Animals, Friendicoes and certain welfare organizations are continuously appealing citizens to show mercy for such animals.
I would certainly like to mention the name of an organization who is working for stray dogs, cats and elephants. The name of the organization is Clementine Paws of Karuna Society-CUPA. The founder members are Suparna Ganguly and Shiranee Pereira of PFA Chennai. They really have done an incredible job and through this write-up, I would like to pay them honour. They are recipients of an award by the government “Nari Shakti” which is the highest civilian honour for women in India.
There is a Mini Vasudevan who gave up her white collared job in America and settled in India to look after such stray animals. Mini has started an organization called “Humane Animal Society” in Coimbatore. According to recent news in helpanimalsindia.org, Mini has backed about 50,000 animals and sterilized 25000 dogs in Coimbatore till date and still continuing doing so.
Mini urged the people of India by quoting one of her thoughts - "I have always been someone who couldn't bear to see animals suffer, even when I was a child. I have encountered veterinary doctors who were either uninterested in treating stray animals or chose not to do so. Because of this, we decided to launch the Humane Animal Society here. Our awareness programs have brought profound results! Earlier people wouldn't care to even inform us about injured animals. Now they painstakingly bring the animals in for treatment with much care and affection." This shows how important it is to acknowledge the problem of such stray animals and it is also a need of present time to join hands to save this beautiful creation of nature by the creator.
Another huge category of stray animal is the cat. Now, the question is from where these stray cats come? The stray cats are known as “Feral cats”. Such cats are very ferocious and they are very less socialized also. Because of that they always keep a distance from human beings. They like to live in colonies in an isolated place. They always try to form colonies of stray cats only. Very often get mingled with other abandoned pets or stray animals. Some of these cats also known as “Community cats” or “free-roaming Cats”.
In Bangalore, CUPA is being funded by Help animals India to take care of cats. This animal is also has a brigade under the stray animal category and they have a sterilization process for around 500 cats in the city. Cats are the most complex animal to take care of. In India, cats are usually treated as an inauspicious animal and never given sympathetic or kind gestures as dogs have honour in our country. In our country having cats as companion or pets is altogether an undeveloped concept. Therefore, it is very important to educate people about the behaviour of cats to make them friends.
The stray cats avoid the contact of human beings also. They usually expose themselves in the night that’s why they also called a nocturnal activist. These cats are not hunters and are dependent on the food dumped by human beings. But, yes, they like to hunt for rats. In many slums, where people eat fishes and chicken, they sometimes throw the leftover to feed such cats and in this way they get eatables.
At the time of visiting India, founder of Help Animals India, an NGO based in Seattle said "If you travel to India, you'll see many suffering and stray cats in the large cities with few organizations to help them. Cats are forced to survive very hostile conditions and are victims of extreme weather, including cyclones and monsoon, poisoning, vehicle accidents and attacks by dogs and monkeys. In rural areas, cats lead a more natural life but with almost no help from humans. Further people are superstitious towards cats. They think they are unlucky so it is hard to get community support." This is how the world has an opinion for India about stray cats. Looking at unsympathetic conditions of stray cats in India, Helps Animals is supporting stray cats in India by driving a campaign where rescue, foster and adoption is done to save the orphaned and abandoned kittens. These organizations are educating and spreading awareness among the people about animal welfare. They are also running some programs where such sick and untreated wounded cats get proper treatment and veterinary care. Help Animals has sponsored shelter for such cats. Help Animals also organizes a free training camp for veterinary students to care for the stray cats. There are many meat traders who catch the stray cats and kill them cruelly for meat. Help Animals is an organization which also helps in escaping cats from the cruel cat meat trade.
There are certain American organizations that have done a detailed study on the behaviour of stray cats. The president and founder of Alley Cat Allies say that “many people don’t realize that the only difference between feral cats and domestic cats is the way they behave. She added “Cats have always lived outside,” she explains, “and in our country, cats are in urban settings and wild settings. But these outdoor cats are still part of the domestic species, she notes. “‘Feral’ is just a behavioural description—they’re just not socialized.” According to her, the cats are the most trustable companion of human beings and they are less harmful to the humankind. This statement is supported by the Clinic Supervisor, Audrey Stratton of “Feral Cat Coalition” a nonprofit organization of San Diego. She explains “Unless they are forced into a situation they cannot escape from, feral cats generally avoid human interactions,” further she explains that “some can even become “friendly” toward caregivers who feed them. These cats are absolutely not a danger,” she explains. Even after veterinary care through TNR programs, they remain in their colony site.”
The stray cats do not labyrinth as the pets do. In 2011 a study was published in “wildlife Management” which says that the stray cats are nocturnal activists and pets are comfortable in roaming at daytime.
It is also being found that stray cats do not carry fatal diseases as dogs do. The “Centre for Disease Controls” Stratton from California, in one of their studies, explains that “it’s actually quite rare for cats to spread diseases to humans, and even more rare when it comes to feral cats, who mostly avoid humans. Feral cats really pose no threat to humans; there have been no cases of rabies transmitted from cat to human. And while there is a possibility that feral cats could spread the disease to stray or owned cats”. She also explains that through TNR programs we can minimize the risk of any such diseases. She further added in studies that “Cats who have been spayed or neutered are less likely to fight with one another (a common method of spreading disease), and those treated at clinics who have given a rabies vaccine”. Therefore, according to Stratton, in India, the mercy towards stray cats should be given and they should be equally treated by human beings. Undoubtedly, the veterinary medical sciences also have done marvellous advancement in treatment. So, the cats on the street should also get the proper care. The street cats are more independent and hunt their prey for feeding.
There are many such animals that really need the help of human beings for shelter, food and medical treatment. Monkeys are one of those stray animals. The deforestation and cutting of trees for the construction purpose have become the main reason for the monkey to get dependent on the roofs of residential areas. In order to get food, they have become more looters than an animal nowadays.
The brigade of monkeys is mostly found in temples of India. Due to the cutting of trees are they mostly dependent on the roofs of houses and temples. The devotees throw the “Prasad” and that becomes the main source of feeding for them. They snatch the food packets from the commuters and tourists to feed themselves.
They took the expensive items from the houses and destroy them and the owner of such items has to bear a massive loss. There are some monkeys who attack also on human beings. The government has no such records of death occurred to monkey attacks. Therefore, it is important to rescue such monkeys to avoid the accidental deaths of tourists and commuters.
In the hill station of India, the monkey is the reason to destroy the farms and losses to the yield. They destroyed tons of corn plantations in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. A retired official from animal husbandry and a farmer owns corn farm Mr Ramesh Verma stated at news site that “I had invested Rs 50,000 to plant corn on my 1.2-hectare (ha) farm. Monkeys completely destroyed it.” He further added that “We worship Hanuman but these monkeys are not his descendants. They belong to the evil monkey king Bali who was slain by Lord Ram.” This is how farmers are also terrified by the attack of monkeys in our country. The main reason behind these attacks is the lack of shelter and proper food.
There must be provision after deforestation that all such monkeys should relocate to a safer place where they will be getting proper food and medication. Then only such destruction can be controlled.
There is a research centre in Jodhpur called Primate Research Centre and which is one of the three Union government-run institutes on primates. In one of their studies, they revealed that more than 1,000 cases of monkey bites are reported every day in Indian major cities. They have become robbers in some of the cities like Mathura and Vrindavan. They snatch spectacles, sunglasses, bags, wallets and foot-wears from the devotees and when they have given something to eat then only they leave the robbed stuff.
Monkeys are the main culprits of destroying high tension wires and other cables in the city. Now the government of India is planning for the underground cables to avoid the accidents and deaths of such street monkeys.
There is a trust in Goa called “The Primate Trust of India” which provides shelter to the stray monkeys. It is needed to open such NGOs in North Indian states also to avoid all losses and destruction occurring due to such stray Monkeys.
With the help of this article, I would want to aware the readers about some of the NGOs we have in our country which helps in providing the shelter, food, medical treatment to such stray animals.
- The Bombay Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals (BSPCA), Mumbai: BSPCA or The Bombay Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals is an animal welfare organization working for stray and abandoned animals since a century. They have been working since the last 134 years for such animals of Mumbai and suburb. Their veterinary hospital works 24 hours and treated almost 10000 animals every year. The uniqueness of this hospital is they have also treated different species of birds along with the animal. Some of them are emus, geese, vultures, owls, turtles, horses, monkeys, dogs, etc. They have started new projects such as a cardiac centre, an ICU, a blood bank, an animal birth control centre, an electric crematorium and a shelter for ownerless animals. www.bombayspca.org
- People for Animals (New Delhi): PFA or People for Animals are one of the largest animal welfare organization in India situated in New Delhi. They have a network of 26 hospitals, 165 units and 2.5 lakhs members across the nation. The organization is engaged in the rescue and rehabilitation of stray and abandoned animals. They mainly work on providing shelters, ambulance services, sterilization programs, treatment camps and disaster rescue missions. PFA is also active on highways. They have an effective check on smuggling the animals for slaughtering. To stop the animal abuse in films, PFA is also on the Film and Censor Board. peopleforanimalsindia.org
- Animal Aid Unlimited, (Rajasthan): The founder of Animal Aid Unlimited in Udaipur, Rajasthan are foreigners and are living in India for more than 15 years. They have also opened a veterinary hospital in 2003. Presently treating over 50000 animals. animalaidunlimited.org
- Charlie's Animal Rescue Centre, Bengaluru: CARE or Charlie’s Animal Rescue Centre was started in January 2013 in Bengaluru. The organization is working on sheltering, rehabilitating, re-homing and medical treatment for the stray and abandoned animals. They have a provision of 24-hour veterinary care, ambulance services, inpatient facilities and adoption of dogs and cats. They are regularly advancing in treatments for such animals. charlies-care.com
- Blue Cross of India, Chennai: This is India’s most recognized animal welfare organization. A Chennai based organization working for abandoned, abused, injured or sick, disabled animals. bluecrossofindia.org
- Friendicoes, New Delhi: The NGO Friendicoes is working for the abandoned and stray animals of Delhi and Gurugram for over 35 years.
- Debasree Roy Foundation, Kolkata: Debasree Roy Foundation or DRF is registered in 2009 as an NGO in Kolkata. They quote in their vision that” aspires to establish a harmonious co-relation between humans and animals by bringing them closer through comprehensive adoption programs and awareness camps against animal cruelty". They are engaged in giving shelters to the stray and abandoned sick and disabled animals. They run a program of vaccination to the street animals. debasreeroyfoundation.org
- The Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care Centre (SGACC), New Delhi: The Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care Centre or SGACC was founded in 1980 for providing shelters to the stray and abandoned animals to feed them in a proper manner. The veterinary hospital is well equipped with special care units, OPD clinics, modern dental care, operation theatre with many more needful facilities. The SGACC mission is “to provide sick, wounded and abandoned animals food, shelter, medication, kindness, safety and care for as long as they need it”. sanjaygandhianimalcarecentre.org
- Visakha Society For The Protection And Care For Animals, Andhra Pradesh: The Visakha Society for the Protection and Care of Animals or VSPCA is located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh and was founded 1996. The main goal of this organization is to stop the illegal trade of sea-turtles, providing shelters to the street and abandoned cows, buffaloes as their meat and beef also get smuggled. They have established a sanctuary to hundreds of dogs, cats, birds, monkeys, horses, rabbits, tortoises, ducks and other animals who were injured, sick and abandoned by the owner. vspca.org
- Posh Foundation, Uttar Pradesh: In Noida, UP Posh Foundation has opened a shelter home and veterinary hospital for stray and abandoned animals. They quote their vision as "to work for a world in which all humans respect and live in harmony with all other members of the animal kingdom. Adoptions, sterilization, post-operative care and cruelty intervention are some of their areas of service”.
These are some of the seasoned animal welfare organizations in India who are running since many decades and one of the organizations from century to provide the medical aid, shelter, food and emotional support to all such species which are a victim of natural calamity or human- beings. This is a truth of life that without animals there is no world. Therefore, it’s our duty to give such needy animals love and protection at our fullest. As being an animal they have full right to live life and liberty like human beings. And we should stop the cruelty against them. A country like India has no central agency where all these cases can be acknowledged well. There are some NGOs and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, People for Animals, Friendicoes and certain welfare organizations are continuously appealing citizens to show mercy for such animals. These animals are also one of the major reasons for accidents, so, there is an immense need to acknowledge this problem for human well being also.
The government of developed countries has an effective system to control the stray animals, in terms of birth control, proper shelter, proper feeding and proper medication facility. These countries have animal welfare organizations like Animal Control, the Humane Society, the SPCA, private shelters, and rescue organizations, for taking proper care the stray animal issues. Though in India also there are many animal welfare organizations are into operations but still, the Indian government has a need to come up with many such arbitrations and organizations. That will help in dealing with the issues more effectively. There is still a need for making rules in an organized way for prevention of cruelty to animals that came in 1960 got amended in the year 2017.
There is an organization called Kashika’s Pampered Paws and the founder is Kashika Arora, an entrepreneur of pet management company situated in Kolkata gave a statement to India today, a very renowned Media of India, she explains that “Stray the word itself is wrong. They are our Indian breeds, which we Indians don’t want to accept. People should drive safely so as to not hurt or kill them and also adopt street dogs rather than adopting a fancy breed.” Kashika is more concerned with the killing of animals due to accidents occurring on the highways and roads. People never pay sympathy towards the street animals and they deliberately tease or kill them.
The question is what laws by the Indian government have been formed to save such stray animals? How many of us know that it is illegal to kill a dog in our country, cruelty acts against animals in our country is subject to a monetary fine of INR 50 as per the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. I would like to mention a brutal act by a medical student of Chennai who threw a dog from the rooftop of his building where he uses to live, and another guy shamelessly filmed the entire brutality of him. In another hideous accident occurred in Bengaluru, a woman who flung eight puppies on a boulder and smashing their skulls in the process. In both the brutal acts both the criminals got bail after paying a petty fine and are again ready to repeat such offence. Both the incidences took place a year back, somewhat in 2017.
The New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) in 2014 planed and also announced about the training of stray dogs to work with police as guard dogs. It was an appreciable decision and was welcomed by many. Ban on the killing of stray dogs by the Honorable Supreme Court was passed in India in November 2015. All states and union territories were ordered to follow central rules. The Court asked the state and union territories that only “irretrievably ill or mortally wounded” stray dogs can be ignored and the whole act should be performed under a “humane manner.”
There are thousands of serious issues are lying pending in the different courts against the cruelty of stray animals. The animal welfare groups are seriously scrutinizing the cases and are serious about the problems. These organizations are filing needful several petitions also and the government still needs strict the rules to follow and to punish the criminal against such acts.
The funding for such initiatives is also a hurdle at times which the government has to provide but failed in doing so. Kashika once told the media that “Government should build a shelter for such animals and not keep them on streets. Secondly, they should sterilize animals and operate the females to stop extra reproduction and reduce death. Adopt don’t shop is my only motto.” As I mentioned earlier also Kashika Arora is a founder of Kashika’s Pampered Paws, member of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India and People for Animals (PFA).
If we see the history of India the love and compassion were the imperial part of life. Now, where is the love? Mr S. Theodore Baskaran, author of “The Book of Indian Dogs” says in his book and I would like to quote here for you my friends that “All dogs should be loved and taken care of”. The book is a guide to the history and present-day status of around 25 varieties of Indian dogs. The sad story starts with the appendix of this exhaustive guide. The author takes on a tour of such cruel acts performed by any human being on animals in a very soft manner but yes though he is soft that’s cruelty. He mentioned how stray dogs are the victim of a progressive world as they met with motor accidents and the passion for construction the fashionable buildings are threatening wildlife. There is indeed a need to adopt these animals to save mankind on the earth.
I am quoting a statement of Ayesha Christina, founder of the not-for-profit Neighborhood Woof who burdened the rescue of such animal by saying “Attempting to neuter all of them is like trying to empty a vast lake with a bottomless bucket”. In order to counter the above statement, I am also quoting what Mr Baskaran writes in his book and that will give a mixed impression of work. “At first sight, one might smirk at the ruthless comments, but his comments come from some truth; India’s stray population is huge and birth control has proven futile. Adoption is terribly slow and limited as many people only want foreign breed dogs. So then is euthanisation is the only option?” Through these two quotes, it is quite clear that people want to adopt the dogs but not from the breed of native but from the other countries. This is another reason of negligence towards the stray animals.
A worker in CUPA very precisely said that “garbage and irresponsible ownership are the culprits, No matter how many dogs we sterilize, more will be born. There are just too many of them.” This not the problem of only certain sets of dogs but of many.
There is an organization called Animal Lives Are Important and they were working on ABC-ARV programs and all of them proved a big-time failure. The reason for failure was delayed action from Municipal Corporations of the city.
The CNVR - catch neuter vaccinate and release method helped dogs on sexual aggression, because of that the problem of dog bite became very common. The problem of rabies in India’s is shaping into an entirely new form As per WHO India is the only country where death rate because rabies is highest, the municipal corporation failed to control such stray dogs. The animal welfare organization also focusing more on Urban issues, such issues in rural are still unacknowledged. Stray dogs are unneutered and unvaccinated in rural India. Therefore, there is a huge need for NGOs to focus in rural areas also. In rural areas of the country, there are many dog bite cases causing rabies are not reported under the government reports. The main reason for this is the poor financial conditions. The earning of people in rural is not that much and anti-rabies vaccination is unaffordable for them. The situation got worse because in India we have only one lab that is diagnosing rabies in animals that is Veterinary College of Karnataka, Bangalore. Therefore, there is a need for opening such institutions at least in every state of the country. The poor people cannot afford the vaccination, so the government should provide free vaccination to such people. Normally there are three-dose rabies vaccination course costs is necessary for any such patient who is suffering from the disease and that costs more than Rs 100 rupees which is unaffordable by the poor. That is why most children in rural are the main sufferers or victims who got untreated from this atrocious disease. Indians are a victim of 17.4 million dog bites per year and a mere 15% of all dogs are so-called vaccinated. According to WHO, 70% of the dog population should get vaccinated if we really wanted to tackle the rabies disease?
Now, what can be done to control the situation? The animal welfare organizations are with local government bodies are really working hard to overcome from the situation. The programs are running to sterilize the stray dogs have really upgraded in past certain years. There is still a need to train the people and make them aware to overcome the issues. The government needs to pump the money also for this. The adoption process of such animals is also equally important with the sterilization of animals. Love and compassionate behaviour are needed to solve the issue against cruelty. The prevention of cruelty act 1960 is amended but the penalty is not revised which should be done to create fear among the animal haters.
Stray cattle is also one of the reasons for the traffic in India. There are thousands of stray cattle roams freely on highways and roads across the country. The prevention from accidents occurred on highways because of stray cattle is also very important to consider. There are certain animal welfare organizations who are sticking glow-in-the-dark strips on the horns of stray cattle to help the drivers to see the cattle in the dark on the highway. The cattle are habituated to wander or cross the roads while dark in the night. A few months back I read that the traffic police of Madhya Pradesh have stuck some radium bands on the horns of some 300 street cows and bulls to prevent the accidents on highways in the night and that becomes easy to see the drivers to save them. There is traffic police inspector in Balaghat district of Madhya Pradesh who also told the media that “Many drivers injured themselves or killed the cattle after running over them at night and there was an urgent need to prevent such accidents". While reading news on cattle of AFP I read his statement which I think is really a problem that should get acknowledged. The success of the radium sticker scheme converted by painting the horns by oil paints. This painting of horns really helped in saving many lives of drivers as well as stray cattle. The farmers also started using all these schemes with their owned cattle as it is really helpful for them also to save their lives. A World Health Organization report in 2013 said that approximately more than 231,000 people died in road accidents per year in India.
Prevention from cruelty or from accidents of stray animals is important for humankind. As I previously said that the creator has created every living being with some or the other reason to help each other.
On social media and in news also we every then and now read and watch that the street female dog has adopted a monkey child and she is taking care of baby monkey like her own baby. This shows that compassion is still working with the animals but modernization made human less sensitive.
A few days back, I watch a video on social media where a monkey mother somewhere in rural India has adopted an abandoned puppy. She was feeding him and taking full care as her own child. I really wonder where the humanity and humility have gone for which India is known from centuries.
It is very important and needed that a community-based animal birth control program, locally based, including free medical care and inpatient facilities, can result in India a healthy stray animal population. It is equally important that human and animal welfare should be well taken care of. Even some of the religious books say that disrespecting animals is equivalent to disrespecting the creator. The harmony and compassion towards dumb animals are termed as most pious deeds.
Therefore, to conclude I would like to say that to make the planet green and green forever we should be able to give the shelters to the lost animals. It is beneficial to adopt an animal instead of buying from the breeders. Try volunteering to find suitable families for such stray animals who really need shelter and medical aids. Donation to animal welfare organization may certainly help to these animals.
Helping stray animals is an ancient culture of India. Live and let live slogan implies on this dumb animals also who cannot express their pains and grievance in words. Indian culture is to embrace every beautiful creature on the planet. The modernization and craze of progress have to lead to nowhere but in a very strange state of inhumane. The behaviour towards the animal has crossed the limits that to save them we have to create certain organizations who can work for the welfare of such animals. It is very important to care for such animals to make the environment free from pollution and free from animal-borne diseases to keep healthy.
All photos clicked by and the blog is written by Mukkesh Sharma for WPC project Pick a Story
