The brutal attacks and mauling of infants and elders by violent street dogs in different parts of the country are countless and shocking. One can fathom the dimensions of the menace—there are around 6.2 cr street dogs in India. As per current population figures, there are four dogs per 100 people. India reported nearly 16 mn cases of stray dog bites between 2019 and 2022, averaging over 10,000 daily. The WHO report on rabies in India says that around 21,000 deaths occur annually in India due to rabies, and dogs are responsible for 99% of rabies transmissions.
The constitutional and legal mandates regarding animals in general and stray dogs in particular, are those of empathy and kindness. Article 51A makes it a fundamental duty of every citizen to have compassion for living creatures. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, makes subjecting any animal to unnecessary pain or suffering a penal offence. Indian courts have passed orders to prevent cruelty towards and suffering of animals while directing the State Animal Welfare Boards to initiate appropriate steps to fulfil the legal mandate.
Though the Justice Siri Jagan Committee appointed by the Supreme Court reported that “in view of the very grave situation prevailing in the state of Kerala on account of the stray dog menace, to safeguard the interests of the people of the state and to protect the people from the dangers caused by stray dogs, it is imperative to find some means for the immediate reduction of the stray dog population in the state to a manageable level, on a war footing”, courts have been of the view that street dogs have a right to live on the streets and a vigorous sterilisation programme can contain their unchecked growth.
In a significant judgment, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court passed an order on October 20, 2022, stating that “no citizen and no resident of Nagpur and areas surrounding it shall feed or make any attempt to feed the stray dogs in public places, gardens, etc.” Observing that the menace of street dogs has increased “beyond tolerable limits”, the court directed that any person desirous of feeding a stray dog must adopt it first, take it home and register it with the municipal authorities. The court also directed Nagpur’s police authorities to invoke powers under Section 44 of the Maharashtra Police Act to destroy street dogs as per the prescribed procedure.
The order was challenged in the SC, which in November 2022 stayed it. Holding that citizens have the right to feed stray dogs, the SC ordered the municipal corporation to identify and demarcate areas where such feeding shall be allowed, while directing it to take appropriate steps as per the law to prevent the nuisance by street dogs.
Against this backdrop of constitutional and legal protections and empathetic court orders, we have carefully chosen to gloss over the real problem caused by street dogs in urban landscapes.
Every locality in our cities and towns is virtually under siege by packs of dogs whose ferocity and aggressiveness during night hours cause serious concern. They virulently chase and attack competing pack members, other animals, people travelling in cycles and vehicles—in short—any moving object. Horrendous instances are regularly reported of stray dogs mauling children, wounding adults or going on biting sprees. Many urban local bodies are initiating a garbage collection system through mobile vans: the resultant non-availability of food for street dogs makes them more ferocious and aggressive.
The moot question is: whose responsibility is it, after all, to control the dog menace? There is no denying that the sterilisation programme, intended to bring down and ultimately eliminate the dog population in the long run, has failed miserably because of high costs and a complete lack of interest on the part of urban local bodies, which are now saddled with so many other responsibilities. Resident welfare associations do not feel responsible either because, for many, street dogs are free-of-cost night guards and hence insurance against thefts or unauthorised entries. Animal welfare groups champion the rights of animals and take up cudgels whenever there is any statutory violation but choose to be oblivious to the rights of citizens when it comes to the uncontrolled aggression of street dogs. Residents feeding street dogs refuse to admit that caring for them is an instance of misplaced sympathy at the cost of citizen safety.
There is no denying that with increased urbanisation, the menace of street dogs shall exponentially increase, given the apathetic attitude of all stakeholders. This will expose the citizens, especially the old, the young, the sick and the infirm, to grave dangers. Hence, it is time for us to take an unequivocal policy decision mandating that streets are surely not the abodes of dogs.
Many Western countries have a clear-cut policy: dogs are loved like their children but confined to their homes. They cannot be left to roam the streets. If abandoned, the authorities take them to dog pounds, where they need to be adopted within a short period. Otherwise, they will be euthanised to create space for others. We should consider having a similar policy decision: streets are not meant for dogs. Municipal authorities must have adequate dog shelters to house street dogs. A window for adoption must be allowed for dog lovers, after which depending on age, aggression and other traits, the animals need to be culled painlessly. The cost of running dog shelters and carrying out euthanasia will be cheaper than sterilisation and anti-rabies treatment.
This will be the real method to prevent animal cruelty: without this, street dogs face the serious risk of grave retribution at the hands of citizens, who have no other means of escaping from their ferocity on the streets.
B K Sharma
Former Director General of Police, Odisha