The Other Side....

This one on my friends Request...

Lately there has been a lot of hue and cry about the dog menace because of a recent surge in the number of attacks on people. The question is then, if a street dogs violent nature is derived from human intervention, then wouldn't it be safe to say that the responsibility lies solely with us. There is no question that infected or rabid dogs are dangerous. In fact, most breeds have the potential to be very aggressive, which can usually be determined by the way the dog is brought up during the early stages of its life. Whether or not street dogs have ever attacked a person or another animal is not the issue, it's more about the dog's capacity to do so. For instance, all the breeds or individual animals have the potential to be aggressive and vicious. If a “poodle” felt the urge to attack a person, it is most likely that the person would be capable of successfully defending him or herself. Yet if a, Rotweiller, Doberman pinscher or pit bull is to attack a person; it is unlikely that an average person would come out of the attack unharmed. The primary reason dog attacks are so prominent and dangerous in modern society is because people who as a matter of right throw stones or scare them even if the  poor animal does not intend to harm them .In Kashmir we have a very unique feature of treating a dog either as very dangerous or as a filthy animal. This mindset has crept in our society so much that even educated people feel very uncomfortable, should they see a dog any where .Then a very important aspect in our Muslim dominated society is to consider dogs as very unhygienic and religiously highly untouchable. While the majorities outside Kashmir are animal lovers who look after their dogs with so that it is gentle, faithful and kind, here we have a different line to go on.

 

I do agree if any animal including dogs pose a threat to humans then it’s quite understandable to think of killing them but you cannot massacre all others for the fault of few. This is definitely a problem to be addressed but we have to be humane .After all we all are humans and we ought to be different from animals and poisoning is simply no solution. You agree or you don’t?

 

Srinagar and its adjoining areas has been a victim of Dog Menace for all these years .Its a known fact that the paramilitary forces breed the street dogs and feed them well in return for staying vigilant and barking on strangers, its evident everywhere one see’s a security picket. As an animal lover, I am not against the idea of feeding them but the violent nature they possess by this behavior is grave. An animal will only attack when it feels at risk from someone .Then the question is why animals especially dog’s attack humans? I still feel that the poor animal should not be poisoned if it does not pose any danger to any one. That is both religiously and humanly wrong. We really need environmentalists to find a better solution. If the government's goal is to stop the number of dog attacks on people, then they need a comprehensive program.

 

If a solution is in the offing then I think this is the one, I really feel would have a great effect and control the dog menace in and around Srinagar. “We are in for a solution to this problem and the program will stretch for 5 years”, was the first comment of Elizabeth Evans a South African veterinarian who happened to be a member of the British Union for Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) who I incidentally met in the office of the health officer SMC two years back . She sounded optimistic and quite adamant to help curb this menace that has hit Srinagar and the adjoining districts. In an informal Chat with me she told me that it’s very important to treat these animals with compassion and love, this was so unheard because in this part of the world we usually don’t hear such words for even humans-Animals are far away!. But honestly I could see that urge she had in her to help. She said she is in for a solution but no doubt it is a lengthy process stretching to 5 years but sooner or later I will prove to be successful. Her experiment could have succeeded had the then government taken a little interest. The latest I hear that she had left Srinagar dejected the same month she had met me.

 

It is every citizen’s inherent obligation to dream and secure our city from all ills .If we are unable to do so, we have no right to claim our civic rights?