12th February 2020 will remain a black day for dogs and dog lovers in Ghaziabad.
The residents of Indirapuram came out on the streets shouting slogans against the dog menace and were holding the animal lovers, the government and the animal welfare NGOs responsible for their ordeal. On the same day in the morning the District magistrate had sent notices to the President of all the RWAs of Ghaziabad telling them about the dog rules 2001. But in spite of that the people came out to protest.
Well the notice was given too late. Should have sent it five years back.
These people have a Facebook page. They have uploaded few videos which only talk about how stray dogs are a threat to them and their children. The govt is doing nothing to get them removed........
Some even talk about how their kids were attacked by the dogs. How a pregnant lady was bitten by a dog
https://www.facebook.com/againststraydogmenace/
After watching the videos and comments few things come out very clearly:
1 They don't know anything about dog behaviour especially stray dogs.
Dogs often come running towards their caregivers and jump on them with joy. They do the same with others too thinking that they too will reciprocate in similar manner. But that doesn't happen. A common man in India on seeing the dogs running towards them often screams out of fear and picks up a stone, stick or his sandals to shoo the dog away. This makes the dog uneasy and scared and then out of provocation he starts barking and if provoked further the dog ends up biting. Thereafter the people declare the dog rabid and beat him to death. This happens most of the time. And this happens everywhere in India. Not only in Ghaziabad.
2 People are absolutely ignorant about rabies.
Rabies is a life threatening disease but one which can be easily prevented. Rabies vaccination of dogs is the only solution for protecting the dogs against this disease. Ideally dogs need annual rabies vaccination in India. Also there are other symptoms of a rabid dog and a rabid dog will also bite his own owner or dog feeder. He will not discriminate between a kid, adult, man, woman, dog lover or a dog hater.
Unfortunately in India any dog who bites is considered rabid. This is the level of awareness we Indians have about the disease and the dogs.
It is only the caregivers, pet owners and dog feeders who know a little about the disease and therefore try to get the dogs vaccinated. It's easier for a pet owner but quite difficult for a caregiver and dog feeder because their is no govt aid or facility for carrying out annual rabies vaccination.
People in India just do not know that every dog bite is not to be worried about. They need not even go to the hospital for injections. It is only a bite of a rabid animal which needs immediate medical assistance. and the rabid animal can be a bat, cat rat......and not necessarily a dog.
Why kill a dog or relocate him just because he has been tagged of being rabid by ignorant people. That's exactly what is happening in Ghaziabad.
The general belief in India is that all stray dogs are rabid and all dog bites lead to rabies. So one can imagine the panic and fear amongst people once the dog bites them or even scratches or licks them.
3 lack of people's participation in the ABC programme
The dog rules 2001 clearly says that the dogs cannot be relocated or removed from their place. They can only be sterilized and vaccinated.
Have the RWAs ever got the dogs sterilized? Have ever any letters or notices been sent by the municipal corporations to the RWAs for their cooperation in getting the dogs sterlized?
Were the RWAs or the caregivers ever been told by the municipal corporations about their NGO which is responsible for getting their dogs sterilized in their area?
Has the municipal corporation ever carried out annual rabies vaccination programme? Just any kind of awareness which could encourage people to adopt stray dogs as pets?
Do the people of India even know about the ABC programme?
Delhi being the capital is still better than the rest of India. It has more Sterilization centres and large number of caregivers. But inspite of that the population of stray dogs has still not been curtailed.
Ghaziabad has very little Sterilization centres and the caregivers are even less. And today those caregivers are being penalised for just doing their duty. They have not broken the law nor have done anything which is unethical or inhuman yet they have become villains of Ghaziabad .They are being charged with drugging the dogs. According to the people they give drugs to the stray dogs which make them ferocious. And then the dogs bite.
Just which caregiver would like to drug the dogs to make it ferocious? And then invite a mob to lynch them, abuse them and beat them up?
The ignorant, misled and misinformed people of Ghaziabad are levying all kinds of absurd allegations against the caregivers of Ghaziabad.
The caregivers got the community dogs sterilized, gave them food and water and fought with their own residents and faced isolation and see what prize they have received?
For more details about the caregivers who have been charged with drugging the dogs go to the link below:
Chief Minister Uttar Pradesh it's time you brought law and order in your state.
Counselling of people of Ghaziabad by the govt machinery is the need of the hour and not removing the dogs. Just how many dogs will you remove? And where will you keep them? Well we know that they will be released somewhere probably at the borders of Ghaziabad and Delhi.
Aren't there people residing in those places?
Aren't their kids and pregnant women at threat from being bitten?
Will the dogs stop biting in the new location?
What will happen to the dog population of the area where they will be released? Wouldn't that grow?
Isn't that creating dog menace by the Ghaziabad municipal corporation?
As dogs are territorial so definitely other dogs of the area will fight with them and injure them.
These dogs will eventually die of injuries, starvation and thirst. Of course chances of dying of human cruelty and road accidents are equally high.
This man-man and man-dog conflict could have been easily avoided if only the govt machinery (municipal corporation of ghaziabad) had worked properly. 5 years lost in just futile meetings and in framing anti dog policies.
The man's best friend around the world is today man's worst enemy in Ghaziabad.
Please watch this video where a dog is being beaten by a guard of an apartment in Gazipur (border of Delhi and Ghaziabad). This has happened just two days back.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/355493465008889/permalink/615415489016684/
The following incident of dog cruelty has happened just a few hours ago. This has taken place in Karnal which is in the state of Haryana.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/355493465008889/permalink/616506035574296/
The best solution which comes to my mind is to shoot all the stray dogs and make India free from dogs. Indians don't deserve the furry friends.
Why torture the dogs and the caregivers of India everyday?
Not a day goes by when a dog is not facing human cruelty and not a week goes by when a caregiver does not face any kind of opposition from its own people.
Neither it's good for the dogs nor it is good for the mental and physical health of the caregiver.
What is the point of having dog laws and not getting them implemented in a humane and lawful manner? People who follow the law are handful and people who are breaking the law are in majority. The handful are being penalised and punished and the majority are being hailed and pleased by the authorities.