A dog was killed by a man in Coimbatore (pic in the post). He hired some professionals to kill the dog. According to the informer the dog was friendly and he never bit anybody. His only fault was that he used to sit in front of the killer's house. The killer has no shame and no fear of law. He was found saying that he will do the same act again and the informer may do whatever he likes. He is not afraid of anybody.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/173466923311589/permalink/781642435827365/
A dog has been hit in his eyes:in Bengal
https://m.facebook.com/groups/sgacc/permalink/3962703400462194/
These perpetrators do not fear law but they also have no fear of God. One just fails to understand that a country which has always preached non violence and peace has suddenly become so intolerant and cruel. That too towards the voiceless. India has a hindu majority and in Hinduism animals are worshipped. Dog is considered Lord Bhairav's vehicle and companion. They are worshipped in Bhairon temple. Bhairon is one of the forms of Lord Shiva.
Is rabies the reason why people are suddenly so scared of dogs? Have they been told to keep away from stray dogs because any bite or scratch by them may cause rabies?
This is what was infused in the minds of the people of Delhi by the veterinary dept of East Delhi municipal corporation for three consecutive years. And the result is right in front of us. Don't really know if such obnoxious rabies awareness campaigns has been done in other areas of India too. Because people have suddenly become so intolerant towards cats, dogs and monkeys. Kindly go on the link below to read in detail about the obnoxious and misleading posters:
People walk with sticks in their hands and just jump and scream even if a stray dog passes them. As if one touch by the dog will infect them and their children with rabies.
Global alliance for rabies control is an organization which is trying to eradicate canine rabies from this planet by 2030. They give free online rabies educator certificate courses which any one across the globe can do just by sparing few hours of their time. There is an article which has got published in their April newsletter. The article title is 'The influence of waste management on rabies control efforts'. The article has been contributed by Dr. Nicolette Wright, ICAM representative for GARC. Given below is the link of the full article.
https://rabiesalliance.org/news/influence-waste-management-rabies-control-efforts
Nicolette has very nicely explained how proper disposal of waste management can help in eradicating canine rabies from developing countries.
Given below are some of the main points mentioned by her:
1 Dog rabies are responsible for the vast majority of human rabies cases
2 Stray dogs do not have access to enough food, water, and shelter,. Hence they look for food in garbage bins.
3 The stray dogs are not sterilized, thereby allowing dogs to breed freely. The continuous breeding of stray dogs makes it difficult to reach and maintain the 70% vaccination coverage required to control and eliminate rabies.
4 Fast growing dog populations are strongly linked to urbanization. The immigration and urbanization contribute significantly to the accumulation of waste and waste management problems. Rapidly growing countries (e.g. India and Bangladesh) hold higher risks of rabies because of increasing urbanization, urban slums, and populations of unvaccinated street dogs living in close proximity to poorly managed garbage disposal sites.
5 Proper management of waste in the streets and at these disposal sites is essential as part of a holistic strategy to minimize free-roaming dog populations
6 The management of municipal solid waste is not the primary means to eliminate rabies (dog vaccination is still the best means to eliminate the disease), evidence suggests that municipal solid waste does play a significant role in rabies control efforts. For example, the direct increase in rabies transmission and risk for inhabitants of slum areas residing close to landfill sites has been documented.
7 Waste management, as part of humane dog population management, should therefore be part of dog rabies control programs
8 To effectively control canine rabies, several interventions like strategic and well-planned mass dog vaccinations, dog population management, and strict legislation along with community-level awareness are necessary.
9 From a welfare perspective, waste management with regard to dogs that are truly dependent on these wastes for survival must be approached carefully. Simply restricting access to the waste immediately, thereby reducing the food sources, without providing alternative food sources (i.e. community feeding stations in areas where dogs are more tolerated) can fuel human–animal conflict due to heightened aggression of hungry dogs searching for food. This in turn will also increase the opportunities for rabies transmission if bite incidences increase.
11 Humane dog population management (and municipal solid waste management as part thereof) should be recognised as a key long-term issue to be addressed in support of large scale vaccination aimed at effectively breaking rabies transmission in at-risk rabies endemic dog populations.
Nicollette who is a veterinarian is neither an Indian nor a Bangladeshi but she has given very important suggestions by which the developing countries can eradicate canine rabies. Let's see what indian municipal corporations and the ministries related with dog welfare have been doing to eradicate canine rabies in india:
1 ABC (Animal birth control) program (sterilization).is on paper since 2001 but except few municipal corporations majority are busy killing and relocating dogs. And the ones who are doing ABC are doing it in the most unsystematic and random manner.
2 There is a requirement of 70 percent vaccination coverage of dogs to control and eradicate canine rabies but we in India have still not heard of any such vaccination drive, intiatives or schemes launched by the govt or the veterinary dept at a national level. There is no awareness about ABC program or rabies vaccination for stray dogs. The only awareness that has happened in recent years is how dog, cat, rat and monkey bite and scratch by a dog can cause rabies in humans.
Wonder how will this control dog population or eradicate canine rabies??????
People in India still don't know how to control stray dog population in their area and how to make their areas canine rabies free. They openly relocate dogs, poison them and even kill them. Relocation is not only illegal but also a deterrent in the smooth and effective implementation of the ABC program. This the people of India need to.know. Caregivers who try to feed the dogs and try to restrict the dogs in their area often face strong opposition. Stray dogs need to be vaccinated to make them rabies free but the majority of the Indian population is unaware of this.
3 Our honourable Prime Minister thankfully envisioned swachtta abhiyan (Cleanliness drive) hence all the municipal corporations across India are working on proper disposal of waste. The garbage bins are clean but this has led to dogs of that area hungry. And hungry dogs might bite out of irritation. As the writer has mentioned that cleaning or removing waste food won't solve the problem of canine rabies because the dogs will then go hungry. Hence, there is a need to feed those starving dogs. For that proper arrangement should be made. Food stations may be installed near the garbage bins or some other alternative arrangement must be made.. The dogs should not be encouraged to move away to other areas because this will lead to unmanaged and uncontrolled breeding. .unfortunately only cleanliness drive is happening. Alternative arrangement of food is not there. The dogs either move to new regions or die of starvation or sickness.
For past few years many govt residential.colonies in Delhi are being renovated and people have vacated their houses. But the Govt or the Vet dept has not bothered about the dogs living in those area. How will they get their food and water is none of their concern? The least they could do was encourage people or ask animal welfare NGOs to adopt those areas and feed the dogs so they don't go to other areas looking for food and water. But there has been no initiative taken by either the ministry or the govt dept responsible for animal welfare. It is often the NGOs and individuals who are animal lovers who have been volunteering to feed in such areas.
What kind of humane dog population control is happening in India one just fails to understand.
Wonder why our Indian veterinarians and the municipal corporations have not been implementing the dog population control program in the right spirit? .Are they any less educated or do they lack common sense? Or are they finding a short route to end canine rabies that is by eradicating canines only ?????? Well because that's exactly what is happening in India.
It has been reported that few corporations in India have been picking up dogs and killing them and some are just dumping them alive in some forest area...
Well the writer has missed a very important piece of information. The role of caregivers in eradicating canine rabies from India. Many caregivers feed the dogs, take care of them, pamper them.and love them. They also get them yearly vaccinated. It is a very common practice now in many parts of Delhi and Mumbai. Also they tie up with local NGOs in getting the dogs of their sterilized. The role of the caregiver can make a very interesting reserch topic and the veterinarians should start thinking about it.
It's really a shame that the govt and the veterinary dept of India have failed both the dogs of India as well as the caregivers of India. There has been no awareness campaigns and hardly any humane dog population management. Right awareness and people's participation are the two keys to effective ABC program. But unfortunately India is only experiencing cruelty towards dogs, harassment of caregivers and uncontrolled stray dog population.
It's time the veterinary dept of India and the ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying came out with humane dog population management. Schemes which are humane, dog centric and dog friendly and not vice versa.