Justice Surya Kant
Honourable Chief Justice of India
Sub: Corruption & misinformation are reasons for man-dog conflict not dogs & its feeders. Punish real culprits not its victims
Respected Sir,
Indian dogs have coexited with us from time immemorial & most of us have grown up along with them without any fear of being attacked or bitten.
But today community dogs being seen with fear & hate. Media every now & then reporting cases of dog bites & attacks. Many of which are false without any authentic document to support their claim.
Unfortunately our judiciary has also become victim of lies & corruption. Questions like why dogs are biting? Why rabies deaths happening due to dog bites? Why dog population has grown? Why cruelty towards dogs happening? These questions have to have valid & scientific answers which our judiciary is not taking note of. Instead dogs & those who care for dogs (feeders) being blamed.
Dogs and feeders are being punished for corruption & apathy in system. It is human menace which is responsible for all this not dogs & feeders who are victim themselves.
ABC rules were in place since 2001 but no public awareness was made for it nor public participation which is a must for success of any program. Even Delhi NCR has failed to control stray dog population where ABC happening since 2001. This was due to unsystematic, random & complaint centric approach which was followed by corporation & those entrusted to implement ABC in India. Resulting in dogs multiplying where there were no feeders / caregivers & controlled population where there were feeders. But no acknowledgement to feeders & their invaluable contribution in making ABC successful.
WHO has mandated to make world canine rabies free by 2030 but India has still not started working towards it. To make India canine rabies free atleast 70% dogs have to be vaccinated consecutively for 3 years which is not happening. Rather fear & panic for dogs has increaed due to rabies. No difference been made between dog bite by a rabid dog & that by a non rabid dog. Because a bite by a non rabid dog will not infect humans with rabies & hence does not require rabies vaccination.
Today even a small scratch by a non rabid pet dog & cat is being seeing as rabid & victim asked to take rabies vaccine. This is no longer preventive measure to protect oneself from rabies but a thriving business for human rabies vaccine pharma companies. Misinformation about rabies has spread hate & fear for dogs & hence cruelties towards them. They are being killed, poisoned, burnt & relocated.
A healthy, vaccinated & non rabid dog may bite when threatened to protect himself. Aggression in dog is circumstantial & not a disease. Which disappears when the circumstances due to which dog became aggressive is removed or properly addressed. This generally happens due to lack of 5 freedoms: which is freedom from hunger, pain, distress, disease & freedom to express normal behaviour. By ensuring these 5 freedoms dog bites by healthy dogs can be easily reduced. But unfortunately no awareness has been made regarding these freedoms. Thus leading to dog bites & attacks
Sir, Supreme court is the highest seat of justice where only justice should be delivered. We urge you to look into all corruption & mismanagement which has happened all these years in the name of ABC & to form committee at central govt level to ensure smooth, transparent & humane implementation of ABC pan India. Simultaneously govt to collaborate with experts like GARC ( global alliance for rabies control) to create right public awareness about canine rabies & conduct mass dog rabies vaccination across India. This will not only bust myths about canine rabies which is the reason for so much fear for dogs & hence cruelties towards them but also make India canine rabies free by 2030.
We hope under your leadership our highest court will not fail mute voiceless souls whom we consider companion of Lord Bhairav. Perpetrators should be punished. Not its victim.
Yours sincerely,
Email to send letter to CJI
supremecourt@nic.in