Recent newspaper reports describe the predicament faced by residents of Srinagar
A public interest litigation was moved in the Jammu & Kashmir High Court seeking directions for the State Government to handle the growing population of stray dogs in the city. The government reportedly pleaded before the Court that the dog population of the city would be sterilized within a stipulated time period.
A lawyer who was keenly following the case had asked the government counsel whether the dogs would stop biting after it was sterilized! This problem of stray dogs appears to be new for Srinagar and if they need to learn a lesson or two on stray dog mismanagement, they must refer to Goa !
They will learn exactly what must not be done for controlling the stray dog menace, because in Goa , in spite of having a very vast government funded sterilization programme, we have failed miserably.
The Government of India provides funds to NGOs and animal welfare organizations a sizable amount of money for sterilization of stray dogs. Under this programme, the NGOs have flourished and so has the dog population!
The Ministry of Social Welfare provides money for each dog sterilized; a higher rate for female dogs than male dogs. Animal welfare organizations sterilize an average of ten dogs per day and they have been at this job for the last ten years and more.
In spite of this, the stray dog menace in our towns has not reduced. Earlier, each municipal council had a designated dog shooter whose job it was to kill rabid and diseased stray dogs.
But with animal rights activists raising a hue and cry, killing of stray dogs are now termed illegal. With the government now clueless on how to handle the menace of stray dog population in our streets, people now expect the animal rights activists to provide th solution.
Apparently their suggestion of sterilization has been beneficial only for their own financial stability, for the people of Goa continue to suffer from a menace that never existed in the first place.
No comments:
Post a Comment