This Large Population Of Stray Dogs In India And Humans.

According to the Livestock Census of 2019, which is a national level information gathering census conducted every five years, there are 203.31 lakhs stray dogs in India. This large population of stray dogs in India and humans’ greed has led to an increase in the number of human-strayconflict in India.

Recently, a case from Kerala, where a 12- year-old girl died after a stray dog attacked her. Another incident where a five-year boy was mauled to death by stray in the Nagpur district in Maharashtra.

This is only one side of the story, cases where animals faced cruelty at the hands of human beings. Last month, a was beaten to death in Telangana and then his carcass was tied to a bike and moved around the village. A horrifying incident reported by India Times where a hot burning tar was poured on a sleeping dog. The people who lived around that area reported to have heard the dog crying out of pain, until it died.

Killing the stray dogs should not be considered as a solution, because of the two reasons. One, it is unethical and second, that in India, it is illegal. Read More

Controlling the population with the help of sterilization

Controlling the population of stray is very much necessary as it is to control the population of humans. The balance should always be there, when the balance gets disturbed, things start to go out of place. The cost of sterilization is high in India; therefore, government should provide free sterilization even for pet animals. Sterilization of stray to be done when things go out of control.

Vaccinating them

In order to control the spread of diseases, vaccinating them is also the best method. Rabies, which can also be transmitted to humans, can be controlled by vaccinating stray dogs.

Rabies is a disease that spreads from animal to human contact, and there is no effective treatment for it till date. India has the second-largest number of rabies cases in the world. According to the World Health Organisation, almost 20,000 people die every year because of rabies.

Strict Action

Strict action is to be taken against the people, who abandon their pets on streets. This is because dogs who used to be someone’s pet, are not suited to the conditions outside and creates problems for them. Proper monitoring should be there when it comes to preventing cruelty against dogs. Proper action is to be taken against the owners who ill treat their own pets.

Awareness Campaigns

There should be awareness campaigns in every corner of the street about treating dogs with care. People should be made aware of how to protect themselves from dog bites and rabies. Animal welfare organizations should distribute their helpline number to every city, village, so that if there are any cases of rabies in dogs, injury and abuse, it can be reported immediately.

Providing home

People should be encouraged to adopt street dogs. With this we will be able to control the population as well as provide shelter to poor animals.

Conclusion

These are the simple steps that we can take to protect ourselves from another emerging issue of human-stray dog conflict. If we do not act now, the situation would get out of control. Not only the government but citizens should also work towards making India a better place for both humans and animals living in harmony.