Chennai residents demand scientific solution to dog menace

Chennai: In the wake of the shocking incident of a man being mauled to death by a pack of stray dogs in Coimbatore, civic activists and residents in and around Chennai are demanding scientific solutions to problems surrounding dog menace. They claim that solutions provided by animal welfare organisations have failed.   

“We do not have proper street lights in our area. People were bitten by dogs after they unintentionally stepped on them,” said Kumaran of Tambaram.

“Dogs keep surrounding my stall. I chase them away but they always return. Some of my regular customers have stopped coming to my stall as a result,” said a vendor at Thiruvanmiyur.

“I love dogs and used to feed them on my street,” said Keerthana .S. “However, after the Coimbatore incident, I am a little apprehensive,” she added.

Animal welfare organisations and activists, on the other hand, armed with a judgment that was passed by the State Humans Rights Commission of Tamil Nadu recently stating that the killing of stray dogs is considered illegal, claim to have solutions.

“In case of too many dogs in a locality, people should call the corporation and demand sterilisation of these dogs,” said Arun Prasanna, founder, People for Cattle in India.

Though the animal birth control rules state that these dogs need to be sterilised, there have been many who claim that the corporation delays carrying out their responsibilities with regard to the same. “A female dog outside our house littered a few times, but the corporation did nothing about it. Their lack of interest discourages people from contacting them,” said Timothy of Adyar.

“We must educate police and the public about animal welfare rules so that they are aware of what is illegal,” said retired IAS officer Jayanthi, who is a member of the State Humans Rights Commission of Tamil Nadu.

Animal welfare officer of the Animal Welfare Board of India, F.M. Jerold, stressed on the importance of living in unity with animals, birds and nature. Though these measures have existed for a long time, people struggle to live in co-existence with these strays due to the fear of being attacked. The overpopulation of the stray dogs is what threatens them. “We should manage the garbage on our streets as it is a lifeline for stray dogs,” opined Arun.