Editorial: Callousness over canine menace

Despite the Supreme Court’s directive, States have failed to treat the stray dog menace with the seriousness it deserves

Not a single day passes in India without reports of dog bites, some even resulting in death. The aggression of street dogs, combined with the negligence of municipal officials, poses a significant threat to public safety, with children and elderly people often falling victim to canine attacks. There are an estimated 60 million street dogs in India, with Delhi alone accounting for over 1 million dogs roaming on the streets. In 2024, more than 3.7 million dog bite cases were reported, and rabies kills an estimated 20,000 Indians annually, with about 35 per cent of the victims being children. The authorities have been largely callous and indifferent to the problem. No wonder the Supreme Court is concerned that the country’s image is being tarnished in the global arena over the issue of the street dog menace. The apex court has pulled up the States and Union Territories for failing to submit compliance reports from their animal husbandry departments and local bodies on the implementation of the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, and has warned that top bureaucrats would face personal accountability for their inaction in controlling the stray dog menace while safeguarding human and animal welfare. Unfortunately, the canine problem is generally not being treated with the seriousness it deserves. In its earlier order in August, the SC had given three months to the States to report on the progress made in implementing the ABC Rules, which require local authorities to run sterilisation and anti-rabies programmes based on the catch-neuter-vaccinate-release model.

The advocates of animal rights seem to ignore the harsh reality that the menace of street dogs is a full-blown public safety crisis in India. Aggressive canines roaming freely on the streets are a nightmare for workers returning home late at night or children from poor and middle-class families playing near their homes. It is only the rich and celebrities, who live behind fortress-like gates and rarely set foot on a street where stray dogs run wild, who can afford to be unaffected by this problem. They are the insulated elite. Ironically, their voices alone are heard more loudly in public discourse, and they often get away with their convoluted sense of activism. But, for a majority of Indians — the middle class and the poor — the threat from stray dogs is a brutal everyday reality. They run for their lives when chased. Many are bitten, contracting rabies, and dying in agony. Yet these tragedies barely stir the consciences of celebrity dog-lovers. They root more for the rights of animals than for humans. The more assured you are about the safety of yourself and your family from the life-threatening menace of stray dogs, the more vociferous an advocate of animal rights you become. A distinction must be made between caring for a pet and letting an untrained, unvaccinated animal roam the streets.

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