Get set for a ‘dog fight’

#TGLife   

Dogs have for long been the best friends of humankind. They are seen as loyal domestic animals-but that would be the case only when they are kept as pets. Stray dogs are an entirely different issue. Roaming in packs marking their territories, stray dogs have today become a serious problem in the state. From chasing vehicles which in turn leads to accidents to venturing into human territory and attacking people, the stray animals have come forth as a serious threat for the society.   

Reports suggest that there are around 20,000 incidents every year of stray dogs biting people. It is suggested that sterilisation of stray dogs is an effective solution to the problem. However, many NGOs working in this area have stated that sterilisation programmes are facing various hurdles such as lack of funds and in some cases, lack of manpower and other issues. Hence, such programmes have failed to have any meaningful impact.   

Ecological imbalance  

 Apart from attacking humans, stray dogs are also impacting the ecological balance of the state. As a result of stray dogs trying to expand their territory, a decline is being reported in the number of jackals in the state.   

 Activists also state that in rural and forested areas, there have been instances of dogs killing wildlife such as deer, snakes, and even crocodile hatchlings.   

Sterilisation hurdles

 The number of NGOs working in this line are considerably low, and those that are working face a lack of funds and volunteers   

 The law states that dogs picked from a place should be left at the same place after they recover from the sterilisation surgery. However, the local population expects the NGOs to make the dogs disappear. The lack of proper dog ponds makes that difficult to achieve, informed animal activists.   

 The Small Animals Rescue and Management Scheme 2014 of Directorate of Animal Husbandry offers grants to NGOs to tackle the stray dog issue. However, some activists said that it takes around six months for the funds to come through. The scheme was realised in 2018.