Bangalore dog panic spreads to Hyderabad

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 2007:

 

 

Bangalore dog panic spreads to Hyderabad

 

HYDERABAD--The fear and outrage about dog attacks gripping

Bangalore for more than three months spread to Hyderabad in April

2007, two years after the city administration took over the local

Animal Birth Control program and allegedly used the pretext of

capturing dogs for sterilization as cover for killing dogs in high

volume.

Partly because of that history, the Hyderabad dog panic was

relatively muted. And, as many reporters pointed out, there were

plenty of administrative failings to blame for Hyderabad incidents,

beyond just the dog policies.

The first of the dog attacks that incited Hyderabad came on March 28.

" Eight-month-old baby boy Ritesh was taken to the Dhobighat, "

a tributary of the River Musi, " where his parents washed clothes, "

recounted Radhika Iyer of NDTV. " Residents say the riverside has

virtually become a garbage dump, " due to deficient local trash

collection, " that attracts dogs. "

" The dog was eating garbage, then took away my baby, " said

the victim's mother. " He was conscious when I found him. He drank

milk. The doctors gave him oxygen, but his heart stopped. "

" The question is, " asked Tejeswi Pratima and Uma Sudhir of

NDTV, " who killed Baby Ritesh, a stray canine or an insensitive

public health system? An official inquiry has now been ordered to

find out why the baby had to be rushed from one hospital to another

and was denied what could have been life-saving treatment. "

Ritesh's mother Mira took him to four hospitals in four

hours, visiting two of them twice, before Ritesh succumbed to his

wounds. Each hospital referred them to another. Only two of the

hospitals provided any actual help.

Observed Blue Cross of India chair Chinny Krishna, " Once

again, " as with all three of the fatal dog attacks in greater

Bangalore in early 2007, " this happened in a an area without Animal

Birth Control. The Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad two years ago

stopped the successful ABC program carried out by the Blue Cross of

Hyderabad and People for Animals, saying they would do it

themselves. Close to 20,000 dogs were caught in the last two years

and less than 1,500 were fixed, as per municipal records. The Blue

Cross of Hyderabad meanwhile began to do Animal Birth Control in

housing societies, with their usual dedication and great cooperation

from the residents. "

The Blue Cross of Hyderabad, headed by former actress Amala

Akkineni, was formed in emulation of the Blue Cross of India, but

as with other societies using the Blue Cross name, they are not

affiliated.

The next sensational attack came on April 9, when 12 dogs

bit 10 young women who were waiting to take exams at Osmania

University's Women's College in Koti.

Chief veterinary officer P. Venkateshwar Reddy sent 30 dog

catchers and two vehicles to the scene, where they captured 21 dogs

and found the remains of two of the alleged biters, who had been

beaten to death by university staff.

More than 100 dogs were removed from the Osmania University

grounds during the next few days, while politicians paraded through

to proclaim their outrage.

Sterilization and vaccination " will not solve the problem, "

fulminated Karnataka State Human Rights Commission chair Justice B.

Subhashan Reddy, pledging to seek changes in the Prevention of

Cruelty to Animals Act to expedite killing dogs.

" There is no way that animal welfare can be superior to human

welfare. When human rights and animal rights are in contention,

human rights will have to take precedence, " asserted Justice Reddy.

But chief veterinary officer Reddy told The Hindu that some

of the women's dormitory residents " wanted us to give them some

friendly dogs to serve as their guards. That food is given to dogs

inside the college is a well-known fact, " Reddy said.

Osmania University women's dormitory residents had already

complained before the dog attacks about a lack of clean water, bad

food, and inadequate overnight security.

Yet another dog attack of note came on April 17, when just

one dog bit nine people including five children in an overnight

12-hour rampage through two neighboring apartment blocks in

Trimulgherry, a residential suburb. Locals beat the dog to death

before police belatedly responded.

Hyderabad and nearby Secundarabad, often identified as " twin

cities, " have between them more than 100,000 street dogs plus about

11,000 free-roaming pet dogs, said The Hindu.

Reported dog bites have soared since the municipal

corporation took over the ABC programs, climbing 23% in 2006 alone,

when 53,437 people sought rabies post-exposure vaccination. Human

rabies deaths have increased 68%, from 164 to 241.

Dangerous dog complaints to the municipal corporation

doubled to 40 a day after the Osmania Univer-sity rampage, chief

veterinary officer Reddy told The Hindu, noting that many of the

calls came from beyond the city limits.

" The city did intervene and sent its dog squad to a

1,000-acre defence facility following a distress call, " the day

after the Osmania University attacks, " but it is clear that they do

not have the men, machinery or mandate to tackle the dog menace

throughout greater Hyderabad, " The Hindu said. Hyderabad reportely

has 60 dogcatchers, but only five vehicles outfitted to haul dogs.

" We are already undertaking special drives, " emphasizing

capturing dogs in slum areas, " and our men are putting in extra

hours, " said Reddy.

Ordering staff to capture roving pigs and cattle, as well as

dogs, and to prevent illegal animal slaughter, Reddy " indicated

that his veterinary staff was facing resistance from anti-social

elements and also a few locals, " The Hindu noted. " Therefore, he

sought protection " for his staff, from " at least three armed police

personnel. "

A conflicting report about who was at risk in greater

Hyderabad came from Saroornagar resident Meenu Dastoor, a realtor,

who alleged that dogcatchers killed his pet dog Gowri and were

interrupted in the act of preparing to kill another of his dogs,

Tommy, after the two of them bolted from his house.

Dastoor told media that municipal workers beat him, his

sister, and his brother when they went to the municipal

commissioner's office to complain about the incident.

Alleged Dastoor, " There were over 50 workers, including

women, and they beat the three of us and locked us in a room.

Finally the police let us out. "

Dastoor said that both his brother and sister suffered fractures.

Saroornagar sanitation inspector K. Koteshwar Rao reportedly

denied that dogcatchers killed Gowri, and claimed that Dastoor

assaulted workers after being told not to litter.

Like Bangalore, Hyderabad turned eventually to " the

Ahmedabad model, " contracting with the Animal Help Foundation to do

mobile Animal Birth Control in outlying areas. A three-month visit

by one of the Animal Help surgical teams is expected to double the

local rate of sterilization surgery to more than 3,000 dogs a month.

 

 

 

--

Merritt Clifton

Editor, ANIMAL PEOPLE

P.O. Box 960

Clinton, WA 98236

 

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Fax: 360-579-2575

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Web: www.animalpeoplenews.org

 

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