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The free ranging dog issue of Kerala

One of the most prominent issues in my hometown Kerala is the free-ranging dogs issue.As the number of incidents of dogs attacking people grew higher and higher with the sudden increase in the dog population all led upto the 2016 attack which shook the state with fear as feral dogs attacked and killed a woman in pulluvila village of Kerala and in October, 2016, a 90-year-old man was killed in Varkala by a pack of street dogs.The old man was sleeping on the veranda of his house when a group attacked and killed him. The angry people killed more than 90 dogs in the locality on the following this.A report submitted in the Supreme Court of India states that more than a hundred thousand people were attacked by stray dogs in the year of 2015-16. The stray dog population of Kerala is estimated to be about two hundred and fifty thousand.5,948 people were bitten by street dogs in Thiruvananthapuram district last year and 4,916 people were affected in Palakkad district. The statistics are similar in the other 12 districts of Kerala.

The people responded strongly by protesting with the dead bodies of murdered dogs hung upside down on ropes carried during marches,animal rights activists tried their best to resolve the situation without violence against dogs increasing, to no avail. As an activist for People For Animals (PFA) the largest animal welfare organisation in India started by Maneka Gandhi,a national organisation formed to look after and rehabilitate animals which are injured,wounded or sick. During my time with them I rescued and fostered puppies,kittens,dogs,cats a barn owl,an eaglet, a baby elephant and a kite. I had also been part of many adoption drives and helped assist the animals in whichever ways I could. When the issue of the free ranging dogs was at it's peak, I was disturbed by the amount of hatred the people had towards animals and thus represented PFA in NDTV, Asianet, Janam TV etc in live debates to speak for the poor creatures and even faced verbal abuse in the process of trying to educate people.

On a deeper analysis of the issue, it came to light that the unethical and unhygienic practice of waste dumping, especially chicken wastes from restaurants and meat factories had made the dogs in those localities overpopulate as well as become feral dogs. These dogs were larger, with a more violent nature and extremely dangerous, needing to be put down for the safety of the humans in the localities.The attitude of the people had changed severely as well, abuse against dogs increased significantly and people like the notorious Jose Maveli were arrested for killing large number of dogs who was allegedly sponsored by Kochouseph Chittilappilly who is the chairman of the Stray Dog Free movement. The organization's stance is that the government is failing to address the issue and value the stray dogs over human lives, he also actively encouraged people (during my debate with him on live television and using other social media platforms) to kill the dogs themselves despite the meagre 50 rupee fine which exists for the crime.

50 rupees had a significantly larger value in the old days, which shows the need for the amendment of such outdated laws to protect the animals of the country. Chittilappilly was also arrested under statutes  that prevent cruelty to animals after he tied four stray dogs in front of a police station to promote his cause.

I strongly believe in the collective responsibility of a community towards it's environment and thus wanted to start by changing the situation in my neighborhood atleast. Communities feeding the dogs with rice, biscuits etc has been happening all over India for many years, but my idea was to make the community responsible for the dogs.

I started out with going door to door and talking to my neighbors and people in the streets around my house,asking if they could offer to help make their community a safer, happier one to be in. Surprisingly many people recieved the idea well and agreed to feed the dogs on an occasional but regular basis, the extra rice from lunch, some of the chappathi, a few biscuits and some love.

The changes in the community were apprent within a month, with the dogs all being more friendly approachable, the community had reached out to PFA to ensure that all the animals would vaccinated and some of them sterilised.

Dogs were always considered to be a man's best friend, in the era of gender fluidity I must say they are every human's best friend regardless of gender.

Within approximately three months,humans had once again rebonded with the animals around them, in their own small ways, the people began to care. I continued to spread awareness at the association programmes and temple festival gatherings along with other PFA volunteers who worked for the cause and took it up to do the same in their communities.

When the car turns into my street, I see a large number of dogs sitting under the sun on the street corners, and nobody tried to throw stones at them, abuse them and they remain wagging their tails in happiness and for the most part leaving us alone.

It is entirely possible for man to coexist with nature without taming it and destroying it so pointlessly.

After I came to Bangalore I noticed that this practice already seems to exist here, in the lanes of chikkalakshmaihah Iayout and saddugunte palya the people and dogs are exist in harmony with no attacks or any such incidents though the waste dumping has become a major concern in these areas. Even in Himachal Pradesh the people treat the animals with kindness and love, caring for them and co exsiting with them in a beautiful way.

A couple in Bangalore are the saviours of the dogs of Whitefield, thanks to Bismi Anil and Anil Prasad, a couple who had moved from Kerala to Bangalore to pursue their IT careers. They now take care of, feed and vaccinate over 150 dogs around the area everyday and currently plan to work on rehoming abandoned dogs and also conduct awareness sessions with communities to help people understand how to handle street dogs and coexist with them peacefully. The idea of communities actively participating to make their environment a better place is the only true solution for  true harmony between man and nature. I believe that the implementation of this programme and others like it will definitely bring about a huge change in the attitude of people towards the plants, trees, animals and birds around them who are considered to be nothing but a nuisance in the middle of busy city life. On reconnecting with nature and actively encouraging people to take part in such activities, the people will become more environmentally conscious, more aware of the problems around them and feel happy and confident in being able to contribute in whatever way possible to the development of nature. For there is no amount of technology that can reproduce a puppy dog's friendly love, and how they follow you around after being given just half a biscuit.The loyal and loving nature of these animals has astonished me and the experiences have made me find myself the happiest in forests and jungles away from the noise and pollution of "development".I intend to try my best to go door to door in any locality I live in to raise environmental consciousness and involve more people in practices to save their localities.

Even in the ocean, every drop counts.

By Anandhikrishna.G.K

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