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Stray dog spectre haunts the suburbs

 

City Bureau

 

Residents seek quick action; animal welfare activists want a humane

solution

 

 

 

 

 

 

MENACE ON THE MOVE: Stray dogs roam the streets in Anna Nagar West. — Photo: K.

Pichumani

 

 

CHENNAI : They are considered man's best friends. But a majority of Chennai's

suburban residents would beg to differ when it comes to stray dogs.

 

Over the past few months, they have had anxious moments walking back home or

even riding their two-wheelers. Packs of stray dogs have menacingly chased a

good number of them, barking ferociously and even biting a few. A stick or a

stone is often the taken option.

 

The fear is not entirely unfounded. In recent times, there has been plenty of

bad news regarding stray dogs — first, the death of an infant due to dog bite in

Bangalore; and more recently two separate incidents of dogs chasing and biting

two children in the city's southern suburbs. The most affected areas include

Alandur, Nanganallur, Adambakkam, Madipakkam, Ullagaram-Puzhithivakkam,

Moovarasampet, Keelkatalai, Ambattur and Avadi.

 

Residents are getting impatient over government promises to curb the menace and

there is a perception that the stated methods — such as birth control — will not

yield immediate results.

 

The dearth of anti-rabies medicines is compounding the anger.

 

Birth control

 

 

Animal rights activists, on the other hand, are worried that the fear psychosis

might translate into something drastic. They point out that the problem itself

is the making of the community in the first place. None of the municipalities

have sustained animal birth control programmes (ABC) or proper solid waste

management to control the canine population.

 

According to V.N. Appaji Rao, vice chairman, Animal Welfare Board of India

(AWBI), the problem is acute in suburbs as they are densely populated. The

organic waste generated is not disposed of properly. Stray dogs thrive on

garbage piles. The non-implementation of birth control programme has added to

the problem.

 

Dr. Rao, who would like the stray dogs to be called community dogs, pointed out

that the menace had been brought under control within Chennai city limits,

thanks to the efforts of Chennai Corporation and animal welfare groups like Blue

Cross of India and People for Animals. The civic body and the welfare

organisations implemented the ABC systematically.

 

Animal activists say that it is a myth that killing the dogs will solve the

problem. Dogs are territorial animals. When a group of dogs are eliminated from

a locality, another set from nearby areas will move in.

 

S. Chinny Krishna, chairman, Blue Cross of India, says that until a decade ago

Chennai Corporation used to pick up nearly 135 dogs a day and kill them

brutally. But it did not solve the problem of dogs chasing and biting residents.

However, the dog population drastically declined after the civic body

implemented the ABC programme.

 

Implementation of ABC also brought down deaths caused by rabies infection, says

Mr. Krishna. Earlier, nearly 120 people died of rabies infection every year. But

in 2003 and 2004, only five cases of such deaths were reported within the city.

 

V. Rama Rao, secretary, Lakshmi Nagar Civic Welfare Association, said local

bodies were not taking the necessary steps to control the dog population, citing

the rule against culling. " They are not implementing ABC. Nor is there a proper

waste disposal, " he says. In June 2004, the Madras High Court ordered the Tamil

Nadu State Legal Services Authority to file a public interest petition against

the Alandur Municipality on the issue. The then Municipal Commissioner of

Alandur submitted a counter affidavit stating that in 1998 and 1999, the

Municipality had periodically undertaken efforts to catch community dogs with

the help of Blue Cross. Dogs with rabies and other infections were killed, he

submitted.

 

He assured the Court that the Municipality would extend all support to Blue

Cross in future exercises. The petition is still pending before the Court. Even

while many of the suburbs are afflicted by the stray dog menace, an elderly

couple in Vengaivasal village are setting an example for others to follow. The

Animal Welfare and Protection Trust, run by Narasimha Murthy and Padmavathy, is

home to scores of abandoned pets and injured stray dogs, cats and other domestic

animals. A conversation with the couple reveals the amount of scorn, humiliation

and embarrassment faced by those people who urge people to be kind to animals.

 

(With inputs from P. Oppili, K.Manikandan, K. Lakshmi, T. Madhavan and R.

Srikanth)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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