‘Dealing With Strays Needs A Practical, Humane Policy; Not A Knee-Jerk Reaction’

Bengaluru-based animal lover Amruta Deshmukh says while no one wants a fellow human being to suffer from dog bite, the apex court’s order on stray dogs is unviable. Her views:

The Supreme Court’s directive to remove all stray dogs from Delhi-NCR and place them into shelter within eight weeks has sparked off mixed reactions. While this is heart-breaking for animal lovers like me, there are many others who view such a step as a necessary measure to address public safety concerns due to rising dog bite and rabies incidents. Animal care experts have pointed out that the Supreme Court is impractical, inhumane and potentially harmful to the stray canines.

I am a proud mom to two Indie dogs and a caretaker to our beloved community dogs. I’ve worked closely with rescue groups to help rehabilitate stray dogs in our area. I have facilitated medical treatment for injured animals and initiated sterilisation drives for female dogs. Advocating for animal rights is not just a passion: it’s a purpose I live every day.

No sane human being would want to see his or her loved ones to suffer from dog bites or rabies. Nor would anyone contest the claims that there has been a rising number of dog-bite cases in Delhi-NCR. However, I am deeply concerned that the proposed solution is not the right approach. Will relocating several lakh stray dogs to poorly maintained dog shelters, with a short eight-week window, address the problem or exacerbate it?

Many people argue that there are no stray dogs in developed world where the roads have been kept free of strays. Let me remind them that India is not a developed western country with land resources required for dog shelters. We lack both the necessary infrastructure to implement this decision as well as the civic expertise. Our civil administration officials have neither the sensitivity nor the capability to handle a situation like this.

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Second, even out top metropolitan cities are woefully short on Animal Birth Control (ABC) centres for stray sterlisation, both in terms of space and staff. In most big Indian cities, dog feeders, keeping in line with the Animals Act 1960, take stray dogs under their watch to private veterinary facilities.

The learned judges have grossly overlooked the veterinary infrastructure in the country. It was a knee-jerk reaction. Relocating several lakhs of strays is a large-scale operation which requires proper planning, experts overview and necessary infrastructure.

There are some important issues to think about: Do we have thousands of acres of land near Delhi to build shelters? Can we hire hundreds of trained staff to take care of the animals in those hastily created shelters? Do we have proper sanitation facilities in these shelters? Who will foot the bill needed just for feeding so many dogs, currently mostly done for free by feeders and individuals? Is it possible to provide enough medical care for stray dogs in the shelters?

I personally think sterilisation and vaccination are the only solutions to tackle this problem in the long term. Why can’t we spend this extent of funds, time and energy in sterilisation and vaccination of these strays? Scaling up ABC programs with adequate funding, staffing and coordination across municipalities and mass vaccination campaigns is the practical way out of the problem without being cruel and inhumane

Let’s hope this is done with compassion, proper facilities and a focus on their well-being, so every wagging tail finds comfort instead of fear. Also, I really feel that we teach our kids kindness, humanity, and responsibility towards all living beings by taking care of strays around us. I don’t want my children to feel that humans are superior beings and can make any decisions for these voiceless babies only because they cannot speak up for themselves

As told to Mamta Sharma