NEWS & OPINIONS
Is the 'Stray Dog Menace' real? The curious case of Kerala
Kerala has been at the center of the pan India spike in human-dog conflicts. Things are so bad, that Kerala government has petitioned the Supreme Court to allow culling of all community dogs they deem violent or rabid. How did things get so bad in the state? Are our humble community dogs really to be blamed?
Table of contents
News of ghastly human-dog conflicts have been so rampant that it has been difficult to keep up - partly because of their sheer number, and partly because of their gruesome nature. Why has there been such a sharp spike in human-dog conflicts in Kerala. Who is to blame?
Are our community dogs to blame for the menace?
Not Dog's own country - Kerala, the epicenter
Kerala has been dealing with human-dog conflicts for decades. However, since Aug '22, news of human-dog conflicts have spiked to a whole new level. There have been multiple reports and video footage of dogs chasing, biting people, including children and the elderly.
It all started on August 14 when news broke of a 12 year old girl, who was bitten by a dog a few days ago, succumbing to her injuries. The incident sparked public outrage in Kerala against the 'stray dog menace'. Media outlets quickly latched on to the public's sentiment of fear and started reporting on the topic more and more. While some reports were disturbing (like this incident), some others have reeked of desperate sensationalism, such as this report from September 13 of dogs chasing a group of students.
Everyone from the media to the general public and even the government have blamed the rising cases of human-dog conflicts on the community dogs / street dogs / free roaming dogs of the state. Citizens have begun taking law into their own hands and murdering dogs en-masse (see reports from September 12 , September 13 , September 15). While citizens are killing dogs on the street, the Kerala government has petitioned the Supreme Court to allow the mass culling of community dogs.
But why has the problem got so bad? And is mass culling really the solution?
It all started on August 14 when news broke of a 12 year old girl, who was bitten by a dog a few days ago, succumbing to her injuries. The incident sparked public outrage in Kerala against the 'stray dog menace'. Media outlets quickly latched on to the public's sentiment of fear and started reporting on the topic more and more. While some reports were disturbing (like this incident), some others have reeked of desperate sensationalism, such as this report from September 13 of dogs chasing a group of students.
Everyone from the media to the general public and even the government have blamed the rising cases of human-dog conflicts on the community dogs / street dogs / free roaming dogs of the state. Citizens have begun taking law into their own hands and murdering dogs en-masse (see reports from September 12 , September 13 , September 15). While citizens are killing dogs on the street, the Kerala government has petitioned the Supreme Court to allow the mass culling of community dogs.
But why has the problem got so bad? And is mass culling really the solution?
Oct '22 data from Google Trends clearly shows a spike in people searching for dog bites
A clear case of finger pointing
According to government data, Kerala is 16th in the list of states with highest population of community dogs. However with just 2.9 lakh street dogs, Kerala reported more than 1 lakh cases of dog bites in the first seven months of 2022. In terms of dog bite cases reported, it is in the top 6 states of the country. Nearly every local authority, news agency and municipal corporation has put the blame squarely on community dogs and their inherently aggressive nature, for this skew in numbers.
But here's the twist.
But here's the twist.
In 2015, the Ernakulam General Hospital in Kochi found something very interesting. In an internal study conducted over 6 months (Jan - June '15), the hospital tallied all the cases of dog bites reported to their doctors. The study revealed that community dogs were responsible for only 24% per cent of the dog bites reported in their hospital while
Why are we then assuming that community dogs are the cause of all our problems?
More than 75% of the dog bites brought to the hospital were caused by pet dogs.Even in the case of the 12 year old girl mentioned earlier, it was later reported in an interview with her parents that the bite was actually caused by a pet dog, and not community dogs. They also spoke about how the hospital authorities delayed action on the grounds that everything that could be done to stop rabies - needed to happen within 4 hours (the so called Golden Hour). This piece of information was carried by very few news outlets, most chose to ignore it for the much more viral 'stray dog menace' headlines.
Why are we then assuming that community dogs are the cause of all our problems?
Suprise! Surprise! Humans are the problem
For decades now, India has been dealing with an inability to manage it's free roaming dog population. For the first 50 years of our independence - we repeatedly tried culling them in an effort to stop their population from growing. Despite that, community dog populations kept increasing, crossing a mammoth 1.5 crores in 2019
Then in 2001, better heads prevailed and the government brought in a more scientific approach of population management through the Animal Birth Control Act. Under the ABC act, state governments were guided to start picking up community dogs, removing their sexual organs (neutering) and putting them back in the same place as picked.
While the rules are clear, their implementation on ground in various parts of the country has been questionable at best. Release of funds has been lethargic, resulting in very few ABC centers being functional today, even after 21 years. There is a shortage of volunteers trained in catching dogs, of vans to carry them, of veterinarians and even basic equipment to carry out the surgeries.
Then in 2001, better heads prevailed and the government brought in a more scientific approach of population management through the Animal Birth Control Act. Under the ABC act, state governments were guided to start picking up community dogs, removing their sexual organs (neutering) and putting them back in the same place as picked.
While the rules are clear, their implementation on ground in various parts of the country has been questionable at best. Release of funds has been lethargic, resulting in very few ABC centers being functional today, even after 21 years. There is a shortage of volunteers trained in catching dogs, of vans to carry them, of veterinarians and even basic equipment to carry out the surgeries.
Kerala, in particular has a terrible record. It did not have a functional ABC program till 2015. Then the Kerala HC, listening to another petition to allow mass culling, directed the state government to start ABC on a war footing. Compelled, the state government turned around and entrusted the responsibility of ABC programs to the Kudumbashree programe - a poverty eradication and women empowerment body. Yes, seriously.
This was in 2021. Kerala is yet to institutionalize a proper ABC program since.
Under Kudumbashree, more than 75% of the 113 crores allocated for ABC programs in the state, remained un-utilisedWhen Animal Welfare organisations later complained that the organization was ill-equipped and had no experience in carrying out ABC programs, the Kerala HC intervened. It ordered that Kudumbashree be stopped from carrying out ABC programs any further and restrained their flow of funds.
This was in 2021. Kerala is yet to institutionalize a proper ABC program since.
Kudumbashree volunteers carrying out ABC surgeries in Keraa
The real victim in all of this
Amidst all the finger pointing, and the bickering, it is easy to lose sight of the real victim here: the human-dog relationship.
Animal welfare activists and veterinarians say that people in Kerala do not have a friendly relationship with dogs in general, and keep them at a distance. "Here, even pet dogs are mostly kept in kennels or caged or tied up for the entire day. Rarely do people let their dogs inside their homes," said animal welfare advocate Sally Varma to the BBC.
Is it any wonder though?
We have failed as a society, to come together and take any meaningful action to ensure peaceful co-existence of humans and animals. Every time there is an incident, we are quick to raise the finger at the easiest target - our community dogs, and start lynching them or murdering them in large numbers. Our media outlets and news agencies have been quick to sensationalize without bothering to go into the details of any of the incident. Our local governments have failed at multiple levels to implement clear guidelines, and resorted to knee jerk reactions at the last moment. Worst of all, our education system has failed us in not equipping us with basic empathy for these voiceless animals who, when given the choice, never intend to cause harm to any human being.
Kerala is one of the only states in India where pet dog population declined from 2012-2019. This is in an era where pet dog adoption is booming across the country, with people benefitting from the company of our best friend. Something has gone terribly wrong here.
Things need to change, quickly.
Animal welfare activists and veterinarians say that people in Kerala do not have a friendly relationship with dogs in general, and keep them at a distance. "Here, even pet dogs are mostly kept in kennels or caged or tied up for the entire day. Rarely do people let their dogs inside their homes," said animal welfare advocate Sally Varma to the BBC.
Is it any wonder though?
We have failed as a society, to come together and take any meaningful action to ensure peaceful co-existence of humans and animals. Every time there is an incident, we are quick to raise the finger at the easiest target - our community dogs, and start lynching them or murdering them in large numbers. Our media outlets and news agencies have been quick to sensationalize without bothering to go into the details of any of the incident. Our local governments have failed at multiple levels to implement clear guidelines, and resorted to knee jerk reactions at the last moment. Worst of all, our education system has failed us in not equipping us with basic empathy for these voiceless animals who, when given the choice, never intend to cause harm to any human being.
Kerala is one of the only states in India where pet dog population declined from 2012-2019. This is in an era where pet dog adoption is booming across the country, with people benefitting from the company of our best friend. Something has gone terribly wrong here.
Things need to change, quickly.
Most community dogs are harmless and extremely friendly (Courtesy: PTI)
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