By Sushil Kutty
The Supreme Court has modified its dog-order of August 11 and “dog-lovers” are beyond relief, except that the order doesn’t meet everybody’s expectations. The best thing about the order is that dog-lovers have been told not to feed strays on the streets and roads, in the vicinity of schools and at the entrances to gated communities. Food is not always an distraction but dogs might take exception to a stray child or elderly man invading the public feeding areas randomly selected by the compassionate dog-lovers.
The problem is every dog-lover who feed stray dogs selects his or her feeding place. The dog-lover is as territorial as the dog! The Supreme Court’s modified order says the strays should be captured, sterilized and immunized and then released back into the human population. And because the stray dogs have been vaccinated against Rabies, children wouldn’t be in danger.
The most that will happen will be fear of dogs instilled in the child, a fear that will stay for the rest of his/her lifetime. Fear of stray dogs is an international phenomenon. In Netherlands, it led to strong measures taken and today Netherlands is beyond the ken of stray dogs. But India being ‘Sanatani’, Indians are default animal-lovers, not just dog-lovers.
The Supreme Court directed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to release sterilised and vaccinated stray dogs back into their localities but not before the dogs are tested and declared rabies-free. Stray dogs betraying aggressive behaviour must be kept separate from the rest of the freely roaming stray dogs.
Is the MCD capable of carrying out this task? As it is, dog-lovers have been questioning the commitment of the inept MCD. The feeling drummed into the average Indian that our justices are a notch above common mortals. The stoppage of public feeding of stray dogs is a great relief to people who use roads for a smooth travel from ‘Point A’ to ‘Point B’. Stray dogs often take a liking for unprotected ankles and calves.
So while dedicated public feeding zones are a relief, the rider that sterilized and vaccinated stray dogs should be released back into their territorial biting grounds is still scary for the child and the majority of the elderly. Predicting dog behaviour is not in the domain of children and the elderly.
The top court’s order says designated feeding zones must be created and animal lovers can adopt stray dogs using the services of the MCD. A lot has been alleged about the MCD, will the municipal body up to the task? Only time 8will tell, but the three-judge bench of the Supreme Court has taken up the challenge with all sincerity with the hope that no dog breaches its trust.
Dog-lovers have been saying that parents should doggy-train their kids just like they’re potty-trained, adding that children provoking stray dogs is a common sight on India’s thoroughfares, keep the children on a leash! Dog-lovers are wholly with the “voiceless dogs”. So much so, they take exception to even “It’s a dog’s life”, stray dog’s are worthless.
The Supreme Court on Friday sought to make amends. giving back to stray dogs their territorial rights is akin to ensuring human rights. But isn’t sterilization a breach of dog-rights? Dog spelled and pronounced back-to-front is GOD! And, here, you have dog-lovers affirming that the best way to ensure the end of the stray dog menace is to sterilize them and let time take its toll.
The standard lifetime of a dog is at the most 15 years and sterilized dogs will not get aggressive if their breeding rights are taken away without ado. Aggressive behaviour and rabies are signs. The MCD has been hogging money earmarked for stray dogs. There are about 20 dog-NGOs affiliated to the MCD, and they’re no better than the MCD.
Chances are the Supreme Court will “look into the matter” when it draws up the promised “national dog policy. As it is, Friday’s verdict applies not only to Delhi-NCR but to the entire country.
The final national “dog” must not lose sight of dedicated feeding zones for the stray dogs. Asking parents to doggy-train their children is as impractical as expecting the municipal bodies to set up dog-shelters for crores and crores of stray dogs. The verdict was delivered by a bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and N V Anjaria, The key modifications include release of sterilized and vaccinated stray dogs into the same area they were rounded up from; That the court has put a stop to feeding stray dogs in public spaces is the game-changer. Rest assured, the strays are not going to take it as an insult
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