Residents in India have no recourse from conflict with dogs in public spaces

 Health is a state subject and it is the statutory, civic duty of local authorities as defined by Municipal Acts across the country to keep the streets free of straying animals, check the spread of diseases, and prevent public nuisance. The ABC programme transfers this responsibility of the government to voluntary organisations with no liability.

State governments and the Centre continue to spend crores of rupees on post-bite treatment/vaccination, rabies deaths, man hours lost, and accidents. Local authorities spend taxpayer money on maintaining dog vans and pounds and manpower. 

Citizens, especially the poor, continue to face dog attacks in public places, with children being attacked regularly. 

Many citizens troubled by biting dogs and have approached courts in all parts of the country, filed petitions with corporations / other authorities, and given press interviews - with no impact on the ground, it seems. See here too. 

In fact, hearing of such petitions came to a stand still because of an interim order dated November 18, 2015 passed by the Supreme Court of India in the case related to Animal Welfare Board of India Vs. People for Elimination of Stray Troubles and others. The order requested all high courts not to pass any order relating to 1960 Act and 2001 Rules, pertaining to the stray dogs.

Yogesh Bhardwaj, veterinarian at the Nainital zoo, said, “Dogs being territorial animals will attack any outsider entering their areas, including pets and its owners. Some dogs are also agitated as speeding vehicles pass by and tend to attack drivers. During mating season, high levels of testosterone in males also incite them to attack humans.”

Expert advice on aggressive dogs: Not all stray dogs are aggressive. Most do not bother any human around them. However, an aggressive dog can disturb harmony. One such dog can form a pack of two, three or more dogs as it becomes the alpha of a pack.

Dogs in his pack tend to become aggressive and become dangerous for humans and other animals, including pet dogs and stray bovines. If any dog feeder spots the first sign of aggression in any stray dog, it should be immediately reported to the civic agencies. If the dog's behaviour continues to be aggressive, it should be sent to a dog shelter for the safety of others.

"According to law, such dogs can only be sent back to their locality if they show a change in behaviour. Ignoring signs of aggression, defending aggressive dogs and preventing their removal from the area can lead to a disastrous situation," said Kaveri Rana Bhardwaj, an animal rights activist and rescuer.

 Feeding dogs at places that are away from homes is important. Dogs have a territorial tendency and it's their nature to protect the human who is providing food. If a person is feeding the strays in front of her home, she is treating the dog like her pet and the stray dogs react like one despite being out on the street.

They will protect her house at any cost, and this leads to a dispute with other groups of dogs or even humans that are just passing by. Any suspicion can lead to a disaster if there is a pack of such dogs.

The People for Elimination of Stray Troubles blogspot makes an interesting point : Ensure that the citizens’ rights are upheld by clearing the streets of stray animals. Basically, this includes public areas free of stray animals as provided for by the municipal and panchayat acts - a demand that the existing law be implemented and enforced.

The Animal Birth Control Programme as a way of managing problems with Street Dogs is a Resounding Failure

The Animal Birth Control Programme (ABC) is being implemented in only 60 big cities of India. Only Tamilnadu and Goa have attempted the programme in the entire State. 

Sterilization programmes for street dogs began in India around 2001, yet still cannot be called a success. In Coimbatore, for instance, around 43 % of the street dogs were sterilized till 2017. 

A female-centric approach is the most efficient for dog population control. As even one unspayed female in the population can give birth to as many as 20 pups a year. 

because of which homeless dogs exist in such numbers today.

The article goes on to say that WHO guidelines state that 'Control of reproduction of feral dogs is rarely worthwhile. If feral dogs are captured and unclaimed they should be humanely killed.'

The WHO and animal welfare organisations around the world promote and encourage free/low-cost neutering for PET dogs. A municipality in Taiwan offers $5 to owners to get their dog sterilised. That is how much cheaper and more practical it is for the government and animal organisations to neuter and vaccinate pets and prevent surplus animals from ending up on the streets in the first place.

The article adds that : 'The clueless AWBI’s ABC policy is the complete opposite of what needs to be done — ignore pets and randomly sterilise and vaccinate some homeless dogs. In fact, this policy has failed so spectacularly, that the AWBI has now changed its own goal post — invented ‘street/Indian/community’ dogs that are supposedly meant to live on the streets anyway !

Another article asks : Who are the beneficiaries of keeping the dogs on the streets?

In the cities, municipal authorities are blamed for the growing numbers and growls on the streets. While the authorities want to remove dogs from the streets, people representing animal welfare organisations insist on carrying on an “unworkable programme” to reduce the conflict between man and mongrel. 

Victims are blamed for the attacks. The ABC programme legalises straying, puts dogs in direct conflict with people, and is a perversion of public policy.

The AWBI, the functioning of Animal Welfare Organizations (AWOs), and the implementation and efficacy of the ABC programme have been studied and reviewed by the Ministry of Environment & Forests multiple times, most notably in 1999, 2008, and 2015. It is not for no reason that the reviews and audits have never been made public.

The reviews expose corrupt practices by the AWBI, mismanagement and misappropriation of funds by AWOs in the name of “animal welfare”, and an appalling lack of even rudimentary knowledge of dog control and welfare on the part of the AWBI and NGOs.

The AWBI and AWOs carrying out the ABC programme must be disbanded and held culpable for criminal misconduct for this blatant and deliberate deception of the public and courts, deaths of hundreds of citizens, and cruelty to animals.

The threat from feral dogs is not restricted to human life. Feral dogs are posing a serious threat to Indian wildlife. Conservation India lists several instances of dogs attacking, hunting, and chasing away wildlife, including several endangered species, in different parts of India.

Livestock and wildlife are now increasingly under attack from hungry and homeless dogs, which also spread diseases to wild populations. Unwanted, homeless dogs suffer and die due to accidents, diseases, and starvation. They are now even subject to retaliatory attacks from people, who have no other recourse but to take matters into their own hands. The only beneficiaries of the ABC programme are the AWOs, which get taxpayer money to build private hospitals and boarding for pets and leave homeless animals on the streets.

The current policy is illegal and unconstitutional as it goes against its own parent Act – the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, Article 21 – Right to Life, Municipal State Laws, the Police Act, and Public Nuisance Laws. While the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (PCA), 1960, talks about culling street dogs, the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules of 2001 allows stray dog population. 

“PCA clearly says stray dogs should be ‘destroyed’. But AWBI through its ABC rules insists that they live on the streets. 

In 2015, AWBI issued a circular that blames the victim for a dog attack.

Developed nations do not allow dogs on the street. Those which are found are put up for adoption. When no one adopts them, they are euthanised. Only two Japanese have died of rabies in last 50 years, that too after being bitten in India and the Philippines. Japan does not allow dogs on the street. Those which are found are put up for adoption. When no one adopts them, they are euthanised. Same is done in the US and Ireland.