KOCHI: The death of a 12-year-old, Abhirami, in Pathanamthitta due to rabies infection has triggered an outrage. While questions are being raised about the efficacy of the anti-rabies vaccine administered by hospitals in Kerala, social media is flooded with campaigns for mass culling of stray dogs.
Abhirami had gone to purchase milk on August 13 when she was mauled by a stray. Despite taking three shots of the anti rabies vaccine, the girl died on September 5. Kerala has reported 95,000 dog-bite cases and 21 people have died due to the rabies infection this year in Kerala. The ensuing panic has led to incidents of poisoning of stray dogs. A few animal rights activists who responded to the demand for the culling of strays have been bullied in cyber space.
A video clip of a senior bureaucrat speaking about an alleged nexus between dog rights activists and anti-rabies vaccine manufacturers is being circulated widely on social media. There have also been calls to catch stray dogs and release them on the residential premises of the such activists.
People who lecture on animal rights should step out of their luxury cars and walk on the streets during night hours to understand the threat. Packs of strays pounce on two-wheeler riders returning from work late night. During the day, children walking to school are easy targets.Cruelty to dogs trigger angry reactions from activists but they appear to be least concerned about the plight of dog-attack victims.
“Dogs attack only people who hurl stones at them,” was the reaction of a canine lover.
Kerala consumes around four lakh tonnes of meat a year, which includes cow meat, buffalo meat, poultry, mutton and pork. Thousands of animals are slaughtered to meet the domestic meat demand.The government has made panchayat presidents honourary wildlife wardens. This give them power to order the killing of wild boars destroying crops on forest fringes. The forest department has shot dead 2,500 wild pigs following complaints from farmers. Hundreds of farm pigs were culled following threat of African swine fever. Thousands of domestic poultry birds were slaughtered due to avian influenza scare. There was no outrage.
What then makes dogs sacred? If stray dogs pose a threat to human lives, they should be culled.
“A dog breeds twice a year and there will be 5 to 10 puppies each time. The population grows so fast that birth control measures are impractical. I was slapped with cases for demanding the culling of dogs and was made to file an apology before the Supreme Court in 2018,” said activist Jose Maveli.“The stray-dog menace did not happen overnight,” said Ambily Purackal, the coordinator of animal welfare organisation Daya.
“We have been demanding the implementation of animal birth control (ABC) measures since 2001. While people are clamouring for the killing of dogs, we ignore the fact that many people who had taken anti-rabies vaccine have died, which raises serious concern about the quality of the vaccine. As an activist, I work for rescue, relief and rehabilitation of animals. I take care of 51 dogs at our facility.”
While demanding dog culling we forget to discuss the reasons for the rapid growth of the stray-dog population. The state does not have the facility for the safe disposal of poultry waste, and poultry shop owners are dumping it on highways and wasteland. The strays that feed on poultry waste grow ferocious. The government should act tough on poultry shop owners and hoteliers dumping meat waste in public spaces.