Stray Dogs menace is man made

THE recent
Posted on 2009-01-07
High Court ruling concerning the elimination of stray dogs that are causing a nuisance has brought the topic to the forefront of many people’s minds once again. Will the decision be of benefit or to the detriment of the public?
The only way to control the breeding of stray dogs and the spread of rabies is through the implementation of Animal Birth Control and vaccination programmes. It is virtually impossible for local NGOs to keep up with the number of dogs that are being born, hence results are not achieved fast enough.
Local NGOs have successfully sterilised and vaccinated thousands of stray dogs and have found loving homes for countless orphaned pups. The stray dog problem has been reduced in the villages since the projects began.
One of the biggest challenges that local NGOs face is that of owned pet dogs that are left to roam the streets and mate with each other and unsterilised strays. These dogs produce thousands of stray pups that are being dumped in markets etc. The ones that grow up will then go on to breed even more strays and all this because irresponsible owners refuse to sterilise their pets. These dogs are much more prone to barking in the night and to chase pedestrians and vehicles because they have been raised to guard their property. Therefore as long as owned pet dogs are allowed to run amock and cause havoc, there is nothing much that can be done.
In my immediate neighbourhood there are in excess of 15 dogs that are all owned by the residents in the area. All are left to run lose. I am sure this problem exists in many places. Yet these dogs are not strays. The NGOs pick them up and sterilise them to stop them from breeding. This problem will remain regardless of how many strays are removed because these owned dogs will stay where they are. When the strays fall sick the local NGOs deal with the problem by treating the animals but when owned dogs fall sick the owner often does not have them treated. Yet whatever disease the owner dogs are spreading must be tolerated because these dogs cannot be removed.
There is little doubt that the stray dog problem is 100 per cent man-made. Since we humans have created the problem is it not our duty to accept responsibility and fix it with the appliance of compassion and respect for life instead of with death and suffering?
-TANJA LARSEN, The writer is a resident of Candolim.