The barbaric massacre of some 50 dogs in a village near Bangalore last week has rightly outraged people across the country. Reports suggest that many dogs were lured with edibles while others were sedated and mercilessly thrown into a pyre of death, from which they had no escape. Some months ago, a Kerala municipality announced a prize for killing stray dogs whereupon some overenthusiastic executioners stoned trusting quadrupeds to death and displayed their carcasses on the way to the municipality office to collect their Rs 200 reward. Fortunately, the Supreme Court stepped in to stop this macabre death dance. The organisers of the Bangalore genocide, however, are still on the run.
In recent years, a section of the public has been demonstrating paranoid frenzy against animals, dogs in particular. Ghastly tales of perverts attracting puppies by offering food and then smashing their heads against stone in an orgy of bloodlust, have been reported recently from Delhi and Chennai. One does not have to be a passionate dog lover to know that even stray canines rarely attack people except under serious provocation. Strays mostly protect humans and guard localities against undesirable intruders as it is in their nature to befriend humans. Arguably the canine population in our cities has grown exponentially. Starved of food, dogs have been known, on rare occasion, to attack babies. But killing the usually friendly and trusting animals is no solution to their numerical proliferation. Various municipalities have successfully carried out mass sterilisation of street dogs to limit their numbers. That in fact is the only humane method of controlling their population.
Fortunately, the courts have frequently intervened to safeguard animals’ right to live. They have also castigated macabre outbursts of dog-killing frenzy. It is important that those who demonstrate unspeakable brutality against animals are severely punished in accordance with the law. Meanwhile awareness against such brutality needs to be generated across the board. Coexistence of dogs and humans is a critical element of our eco-system and none must be allowed to violate the sacred principles enshrined in our religious texts.