A recent newspaper report has stated that in Goa , the number of persons bitten by stray dogs this year in a short span of around 4 months ( January1-April 30), is a whopping 11,542. This translates to a dog-bite every 15 minutes. Is this not sufficient to wake up the concerned authorities and put an end to the grave threat and danger to human lives? Are we to believe that this is the Paradise that we are living in? The matter is extremely grave, as it is now unsafe and dangerous to walk, ride a 2-wheeler, and even enjoy holidays at our lovely beaches. It is an accepted fact that efforts to sterilise strays in the state have proved to have flopped miserably, given the proliferating number of strays in the state. Secondly, if stray dogs keep getting aggressive due to the absence of food, then whose duty is it to feed them? Feeding strays raw meat makes them even more aggressive, as observed on our streets.The only solution at this stage is for animal lovers to get together and make concerted efforts along with the Goa govt, to round up all strays and house them in far away shelters, feed and sterilise them, to keep them happy, safe and bring their numbers down. It is time we got our priorities right. Sympathising with strays and doing little to protect human lives is nothing but sheer misplaced priorities.
