To enjoy additional benefits
CONNECT WITH US
Updated – September 12, 2024 06:14 pm IST – Bengaluru
According to 2023 data from BBMP, there are about 2.79 lakh stray dogs in Bengaluru. Around 30,000-35,000 dog bites are recorded in the city every year. | Photo Credit: SUDHAKARA JAIN
Manjunath (name changed), who does door-to-door garbage collection every day at an upscale residential layout in R.T. Nagar, makes it a point to feed the stray dogs in the area every morning.
“The sound of the pickup truck is breakfast call for the dogs,” he laughs.
“Strays from the 3rd Main road gather at a place a little away from the street, while dogs from the first and second streets follow me till the junction of the roads where they are fed. No conflicts, no fight for food,” he says.
However, recently, he was interrupted by one resident who threatened to complain to higher officials if he continued doing it.
File photo of a trespasser on Vishnuvardhan Road feeding Biscuits and water to a stray dog due to COVID -19 during the Lockdown in Bengaluru | Photo Credit: G_P_SAMPATHKUMAR
“She was scared the dogs would attack the children although no such thing has happened in the area till now,” says Manjunath who continues to feed the dogs.
The death of an elderly woman in an attack by a pack of stray dogs near Jalahalli has not only jolted the authorities into action, but also triggered a deluge of misinformation, calls for relocation of stray dogs, and instances of aggression towards dog feeders.
So, what is it that the authorities, communities and individuals can do to approach such issues with sensitivity and avoid instances of conflict?
According to 2023 data from BBMP, there are about 2.79 lakh stray dogs in Bengaluru. Around 30,000-35,000 dog bites are recorded in the city every year, and four deaths have been reported in the state in 2024 till date, including three due to rabies.
Dr. Abhignya, a senior veterinarian with a private clinic in the city, notes that reasons for a non-rabid dog’s aggression could be multiple including hunger, fear of being threatened, during mating season, while protecting their young, and having territorial instincts.
She advises against staring at dogs, scaring them with sticks or stones, running away from them, disturbing a mother dog who is with her pups, and carrying food openly when around dogs.
While these are important measures to be taken at an individual level, at a larger level concerted efforts from authorities and communities are important to ensure conflict-less coexistence of humans and dogs, experts note.
An important piece of the equation is the animal birth control (ABC) and anti rabies vaccination (ARV) measures. Birth control operations help to reduce sexual aggression and maternal aggression among dogs while ARV prevents rabies.
“When there’s a loss of life, it’s obviously very sad. It’s unfortunate that it takes an incident like this to trigger everyone into action,” says Kam Raghavan, founder and trustee at All Paws Community, referring to the death of the senior citizen in Jalahalli.
“All of a sudden, I’m seeing ABC vans in our neighbourhood but it doesn’t work like that. Action must be consistent and initiated from a place of real intent to bring about a change,” she adds.
As per the BBMP data, ABC programmes have helped in bringing down the number of stray dogs in the city by 10% between 2019 and 2023. It also claims that 73% of dogs have been sterilised.
While activists acknowledge the efforts by BBMP, they feel more can be done.
“I have a lot of respect for the programmes. BBMP has set up several facilities around the city to work with NGOs to pick up stray dogs, sterilise and vaccinate them. But it’s debatable whether it has had a big impact,” says Raghavan.
The ABC Rules were introduced in 2001 for the first time. Given that it’s been more than 22 years since then and there’s no substantial difference in the number of dogs on the street yet, Raghavan feels there’s room to do more.
Arun Prasad, animal activist who was part of an independent fact-finding committee formed after the Jalahalli incident, points out that as per the ABC Rules 2023, RWAs and local authorities are responsible for feeding animals.
According to the fact-finding committee, dogs in the area where the recent attack happened had been starving, probably resulting in ferocious behaviour.
While it doesn’t take away from the gravity of the incident, it also throws light on the role of communities in taking care animals around them and preventing such causalities.
“From a community perspective, the best way to deal with this is by creating healthier forms of interactions between animals and humans. That can only happen if you start caring for them – one meal a day is all it takes,” says Raghavan, who also leads a programme that has been feeding about 500 stray dogs a day for the past 11 years, helping to bring down dog bite incidents in the area to zero.
“When you feed them, you get to know them and build their trust. This, in turn, makes it easier for the authorities to take them for vaccinations and sterilization. This automatically keeps them healthier, less aggressive, and their numbers are in check.”
Suparna Ganguly, co-founder at CUPA and Wildlife Rescue And Rehabilitation Centre, suggests that residents/gated communities must stop thinking of themselves as isolated enclaves and connect to the landscapes that they are embedded in.
“This means taking care of neighbourhoods alongside authorities and this has many interconnected civic issues like waste management, planning feeding stations at jointly agreed locations, and maintenance of hygiene and cleanliness along with the help of appointed manpower.”
The authorities meanwhile can offer free or subsidised vaccinations, sterilisations at the various city veterinary centers, and build a public website where all the laws and directives are in one place for easy reference, she suggests.
“They should actively work alongside area welfare committees to resolve common conflicts as they surface.”
As per the BBMP guidelines, feeding dogs in front of houses, entrances or exits of a society, basement parking area, children’s play areas and common areas frequented by the public is to be avoided. | Photo Credit: MURALI KUMAR K
Brinda Nanda Kumar, a practicing advocate at the Karnataka High Court, stresses on the importance feeding community dogs in a responsible manner.
As per the BBMP guidelines, feeding dogs in front of houses, entrances or exits of a society, basement parking area, children’s play areas and common areas frequented by the public is to be avoided. The guidelines also instruct to not feed dogs between 11.30 p.m. and 5a.m.
“The dogs of Cubbon Park are a good example of how feeding and caring go together in a public place without having any negative impact on the vast numbers of visitors and people who flood the park,” says Ganguly.
Experts acknowledge that not everyone can be expected to care for community animals or feed strays. However, it is also important to not be hostile towards them, harm them or try to relocate them, they say. The existing rules forbid people from harming dogs or relocating them from their territories.
“They are inhabitants of this world and we cannot wish them away. If I remove dogs from my street today, tomorrow new dogs will take their place. Many people hurl stones at them, often children tease them, they get hurt by speeding vehicles. So, the animal also develops a negative attitude towards humans. So, what we should do is educate our children and people to at least be neutral and ignore these animals if you cannot be kind,” Nanda Kumar says.
All said and done, what if you find a pack of dogs charging towards you?
“Dogs respond to how we respond to them. There’s something called ‘be like a tree.’ If a bunch of dogs are charging towards you, the best thing to do is to not react, but stay still,” says Raghavan.
“Don’t chase or run from a dog, teach children and elders the freeze pose,” Ganguly adds to it.
“If there are congregations of dogs, the reasons need to be ascertained. Invariably, there will be the presence of solid waste or slaughterhouse waste which is an urgency that needs immediate intervention.”
Pointing out that people who live in close proximity to wildlife have found ways to co-exist, Nanda Kumar says urban dwellers too need think of practical solutions that protect the interests both animals and people.
“May be morning walkers can go in groups. I have seen people on vehicles slowing down or getting down from the vehicle and pushing it on, because the sound of the vehicle triggers some of them due to previous bad experiences. A biscuit packet was all it took for my driver to befriend the dogs who previously tried to attack them. Above all, do not do things to provoke them. Let the sleeping dogs lie.”
Published – September 12, 2024 09:00 am IST
road safety / safety of citizens / animal
Copyright© 2024, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.
BACK TO TOP
Terms & conditions | Institutional Subscriber
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.
