Article 51A (g) of the Indian constitution places a duty on the citizens of India to protect and improve the natural environment and have compassion for all living creatures
But today we the citizens of India have forgotten compassion towards living creatures especially towards the man's best friend
A pregnant dog was ruthlessly killed by students of Don Bosco Technical Institute in New Delhi and they did this with the knowledge ahd support of the college administration
https://www.facebook.com/groups/376516153177730/permalink/1344464253049577/
30 dogs were poisoned to death in Akola, Maharashtra
https://www.instagram.com/p/ClYx2_BsqD2/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
A dog was brutally killed in Nagpur, Maharashtra
A dog was shot by an uncivilized man in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
https://www.facebook.com/jeevaashraya/videos/3235807596652059/
A dog was beaten in Calcutta, West Bengal
https://www.facebook.com/groups/376516153177730/permalink/1344369386392397/
Many more cruelties are happening daily in India
The Nagpur Bench of the Mumbai High Court recently came out with the most uncompassionate judgement of not feeding the stray dogs and to penalize the feeders who try to feed them
The Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal came out with his party manifesto where he has promised to remove all the stray dogs from Delhi if he wins the Municipal corporation elections
Just yesertday the Vice Chancellor of Jamia University has stopped the feeding of stray dogs who live on the University campus
The ABC rules came into existence in 2001 but it never got implemented the way it was envisioned
The ABC Standard Operating Procedures came into existence in 2009 but again they were never followed both by the municipal corporations and the NGOs who were given the task of sterilization of stray dogs
The Animal Birth Control (Dog rules ) 2001 was notified on 24th December 2001 by the ministry of culture but most of points mentioned in the official document were never implemented
Some of the points are given below:
1 The stray dogs were to be sterilized and immunized with the participation of animal welfare organization, private individuals and local authority (Municipal corporation) but private individuals were never involved
Unfortunately the ABC program became a closed door affair between the NGOs and the municipal corporations because the common man of India (private inidividuals) remained absolutely ignorant and were never officially involved in the ABC program
2 A monitoring committe comprising of 8 members representing various stake holders were to be constututed for planning and management of dog control programs but it seems the committee never took it's responsibility seriously and God knows if the committees were formed with all 8 members representing all the stake holders?
One of primary duty of the monitoring committee was to create public awareness about the ABC program but such an awareness was never made
The monitoring committee was to take steps for monitoring the dog bite cases to ascertain the reasons of dog bite, the area where it took place and whether it was from a stray dog or a pet dog but again this was never done
Today every dog bite in India is considered rabid and the cause of bite is not of anybody's interest,
Every individual who has been bitten by a stray dog is given rabies vaccination irrespective of the fact whether the dog is healthy and vaccinated
The ABC rules clearly said that the representative of the Animal Welfare organization or the municipal corporation accompanying dog squad for catching the dogs for sterilization was to make public announcement and awareness amongst the residents that the dogs being picked up from their locality will be be returned soon after they are sterilized and immunized
But again such announcements and awareness were never made by the Munucipal Corporations and the NGOs
To read the ABC rules 2001 and the violations done in the implementation of these rules both by the Municipal Corporations and the NGOs who were given the responsibility to implement the ABC program kindly go on the link below:
The Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for the ABC program for street dogs was brought by the Animal Welfare Board of India in May 2009
Many of the protocols, Procedures & techniques mentioned in the manual were neither followed by the Animal Welfare organizations running the ABC units nor by the Municipal Corporations, some of the points are mentioned below
1 Field survey was the first step before sterilization of the area which was to be done by the Animal Welfare organizations to assess the dog population and in doing so the assistance of the RWAs was to be taken
2 RWAs on the other hand were to take the help of sweepers and security guards in getting the dogs picked for sterilization
3 The addresses and contact details of the RWA representatives, local residents, village pradhans for follow ups of both the after pick ups of the dogs and subsequent release of dogs back to their area
,
4 The Municipal Corporations to educate people about the ABC progam by distributing pamphlets and leaflets to the public
5 Animal Welfare activists in every area to be identified and educated about the ABC program
6 To vaccinate all the dogs of an area against rabies
7 The Animal Welfare Organization were to conduct awareness program in the neigbourhood schools, colleges, community centres, hospitals, banks and public service organizations and to get their support in the implementation of the ABC program
None of the above 7 points were executed by the NGOs and the Municipal corporations
If they had followed the SOP then today RWAs / AOA would not have been the greatest enemies of stray dogs and their feeders
We would have had a systematic and participatory ABC program and not a random and a complaint centric ABC program
To read the entire draft of the SOP and to see how the Animal Welfare Organizations and the munucipal corporations failed the dogs and the caregivers of India kindly go on the link below:
If only the municipal corporations and the Animal Welfare Organizations had followed the ABC rules and the SOP with full sincerety then today India would not have witnessed so much dog killings and caregiver harassment
The country would not have been divided into two groups: Dog lovers and Dog haters
The judges, Chief Ministers and Vice Chancellors would not have come out with such unconstitutional and apathetic orders if they knew what is ABC program and what are it's benefits
Stray dog Relocation is an offence but how many Indians know about it?
Are there any guidelines for stray dog management in schools, colleges and offices?
Is the urban development ministry aware that hundreds of dogs are being relocated daily from construction sites?
The education ministry, urban development ministry, railway ministry, civil aviation ministry, finance ministry etc were never informed about the ABC program
Whose responsibility was it to inform all these ministries?
Whose responsibility was it to create awareness about the ABC program in schools, colleges, banks, offices etc?
Municipal corporations have always been the main villains but the animal welfare organizations who were entrusted with ABC program are also no less guilty
The ABC program in India remained a closed door affair between the corrupt Municipal Corporation and the self centred NGOs whose intetest it seems was only in the money they both were getting for the sterilization of dogs
It seems Dog welfare was no where on their priority list
Today the voice of the voiceless are majorly the caregivers and dog feeders who are private individuals
These individuals are corporate employees, teachers, lawyers, architects, doctors, home makers, entrepreneurs etc
They have come together and joined hands in ensuring that ABC rules are implemented the way it was envisioned and dogs do not become victim of cruelty
They are fighting legal battles in courts, filing FIRs against the culprits and creatimg awareness about the ABC program through social media
A lot of precious time has already been wasted and the road ahead is not easy but these selfless individuals have faith in themselves and in the Indian judiciary
The dogs of India have been the victims of corrupt and faulty system
They just cannot be penalized any further