Controlling the stray canines

The horrific death of an elderly woman on a morning walk after being mauled by a pack of stray dogs makes a poignant commentary on the unsafe streets of the city. The 76-year-old woman hailing from Bihar was a resident of camp of families belonging to Air Force personnel.

Eye witnesses said people in the premises could not help the victim being attacked by the dogs due to an intervening wall. The macabre incident should wake up the civic authorities as well as the dog lovers who scream against any harsh action to end the stray dog menace.

Stray dogs—their population was reported to be around 2.79 lakhs in the city in December 2023—is the most dangerous threat stalking street-users, be they kids playing outside their homes or people returning to their abodes at the dead of the night or women walking up to the nearest milk booth at dawn.

Even people taking out their pet dogs for a morning round are either chased or harassed by these stray canines. Most senior citizens rate this as a major threat that dissuades them from stirring out of homes.

Reports suggest that the city registered 2.1 lakh dogbite cases between January and November 2023, a 28 per cent increase on cases reported during 2022, the year known for COVID-19 lockdowns.

While the news of a child being mauled or a person dying due to dogbite shocks the readers or watchers of the media, hundreds of cases of harassment by stray dogs go unreported. Sterilisation of stray dogs only controls the population of the scary animals and is no guarantee against dogbites.

Ridding the city street of stray dogs by banishing them out of the city limits has not found favour with all due to protests from the dog-lovers. In fact, free feeding of dogs by some kind-hearted citizens makes the environment conducive for much of these quadrupeds to thrive.

Perhaps a midway solution to the issue lies in dog-lovers being asked to adopt the stray canines and keep them chained during nights and playtime for kids.

It may require a dog registry and strict monitoring of the strays. Organisations such as CUPA may provide a better way to deal with the issue that has already assumed menacing proportions. Safety of human lives must get priority over other considerations.