Voices Anand Neelakantan Ravi Shankar Ajai Sahni Sunaina Anand Shampa Dhar-Kamath Swami Sukhabodhananda MAGAZINE Buffet People Wellness Books Food Art & Culture Entertainment NEW DELHI april 14 2024 SUNDAY PAGES 12 Dog in the Fight Dog bites man is always a story in India even if it happens all the time. With both pet and stray populations on the rise, India’s canine troubles are growing, even as official bans and local rules barely dent the surface of the problem H By deepti sharma ere’s a horror story on four legs. This past Tuesday 15-year-old Altaf was , attacked by a Pit Bull Terrier in his Ghaziabad neighbourhood. The dog, who belongs to new residents of the area, took Altaf down and kept attacking him. A neighbour had the presence of mind to throw water on the dog, and Altaf got the chance to run to his house. The Pit Bull followed and attacked Altaf again. This time stray dogs who live on the street came to the rescue, engaging the Pit Bull; Altaf made good his escape. He is now in hospital while the Pit Bull has been seized by the local authorities. Meanwhile, a horrifying video of the incident has gone viral. The incident also dispels the myth that street dogs are the only dangerous type of canines. Meanwhile, the government banned 23 breeds in India such as Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, Dogo Argentinos, American Bulldogs, Akitas and Rhodesian Ridgebacks. Some high courts have ruled against the order, but the legal battle is likely to continue. “I’m completely against the ban. The issue needs to be addressed in a different matter. No dog is born aggressive, it all depends on the way you bring it up and train it,” says Aaron Patrick D’Silva, Pet Behavourialist and Trustee, Purple Patch Trust, an animal sanctuary in Delhi. Kalhan Kaul, Dog Trainer at K9 School in Chhattarpur, Delhi, couldn’t agree more. “There is no breed that is difficult to train. Training needs effort and time, and often pet parents don’t think about it before getting a pet,” he says. Put it down to image acquisition. Foreign dogs have become aspirational in Tier I and Tier II towns like Ghaziabad, a microcosm of the nation’s pet dog ownership dream. In parallel, stray dog populations are on the rise. Shailendra Singh, who lives at Proview Laboni in the upmarket Crossings Republik zone of Ghaziabad, recalls a terrifying incident involving his 11-yearold daughter Aditi. “A few days ago, when Aditi was walking “It’s not about the breed, it’s about the people who are holding the leash.” Sanjay Mohapatra, founder, House of Stray Animals with her mother to pick up her little sister from play school, a street dog attacked her from behind and bit her. We rushed her to the hospital, where she received treatment and the required vaccination. Thankfully, she’s okay now, but the memory of that terrifying moment still haunts her and us,” he says. Singh is traumatised and feels powerless. “The sight of Aditi bleeding uncontrollably filled us with panic and helplessness. It’s a terrible situation, and it’s getting worse. Stray dogs roam about freely, posing a threat to everyone, especially children. What’s even more heartbreaking is that some people, including pet owners and dog lovers, continue to feed these stray dogs,” he adds. Pedigreed canines, or pure-bred dogs, have their share of terrible tales. Recalls 30-year-old Iti Sharma, who works at a multinational corporation in Delhi: “When I was studying in Dehradun, I used to stay in a PG accommodation where there was a huge German Shepherd. We had repeatedly complained about the dog being aggressive, but the landlord turned a blind eye until one day he broke loose and attacked me. He pounced on me and bit my leg; he kept biting until the landlord came out of his house and pulled him away . It was like being attacked by some huge wild animal. I had to be rushed to the hospital.” Two years ago, a Pit Bull killed the mother of his owner in Lucknow, triggering nationwide outrage against the breed. The animal was taken away by the municipal authority, but was later returned to the owner, Amit, for lack of official policy concerning such incidents. Experts believe that owning a Pit Bull without understanding the breed led to the incident. Amit’s dog was always kept inside the house and was never taken out for socialisation or exercise. Such practices with a breed like the Pit Bull will certainly change its behaviour, say dog breeders and adoption agencies. “Many just buy dogs because they have read about it on social media, and it will be cool to get a cute dog. There is no commitment, involvement and responsibility on the part of the dog owner. Keeping a pet is just like raising a human child; if you don’t have the time and space to devote to bringing up a dog, you should not get one. You can’t keep a dog constantly chained or deprived of exercise,” cautions D’Silva. This year, on February 26, a 16-month-old toddler died after an attack by dogs at Tughlaq Lane in Lutyens Delhi, sending shockwaves across the nation. Locals claim that the stray dogs were involved in the attack, but activists point at a pet Pit Bull that was kept tied inside the premises of the victim's family A group of . activists, including People For Animals (PFA) Trustee Ambika Shukla voiced their concern over the ‘missing’ Pit Bull related to the incident. “Without any proper investigation, blame was put on stray dogs. Our activists on the ground have found that there was a Pit Bull inside the premises where the incident happened, and it was kept chained for breeding purposes. A chained Pit Bull can be very dangerous. After the incident, the dog was removed from the place. The area is a gated community and nobody can go in or out, but the toddler was found outside the gate,” Shukla says. The fascination of Indians with Western breeds was perhaps on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mind when he used the 68th edition of his Mann Ki Baat back in 2020 to promote indigenous dog breeds as pets. He mentioned the virtues of the Mudhol Hound, Himachal Hound, Rajpalayam, Kanni, Chippiparai and Kombai among India’s indigenous breeds that would be as good as any other recognised kind. Indigenous breeds are better adapted to the climate, have fewer health issues and are proudly and purely Indian, but get no billboards from animal activists. The problem is that Indian dog breeds, except the Kombai, are hounds, which means they are designed by nature to run. They do well in flats or apartments, but also need regular exercise. Their large size, however, also plays a role in flat owners not adopting them. Himalayan Shepherd dogs or Leopard Hounds were born to do one job: guarding flocks of sheep and goats from predators. The Indian Army has recog- packs urbana They’re everywhere, in your street and in your local market. As the population of stray dogs rises geometrically, sensible rules, and the adherence to them, is a crying need today nised their value. It is extensively using Indian hounds in anti-terror operations and Rajapalayams and Himalayan Leopard Hounds or Bhutiyas can be seen some times participating in security operations. India’s canine issues have wound their way through the courts and government bodies. Last month saw a watershed moment when the Centre wrote to state governments asking them to ban the import, sale and breeding of 23 canine breeds (see box for full list). But is the ban a good idea? “How can you claim which breed bites? They have put Dogo Argentino in the category of Pit Bulls, and they haven’t added Indian Bullys or Pakistani Bullys to that,” says Kaveri Rana Bhardwaj, founder of Sophie Memorial Animal Rescue Trust (SMART) and animal rights activist. The blanket ban on dogs considered dangerous reflects ignorance of the authorities. Sanjay Mohapatra, founder, House of Stray Animals (HSA), protests, “Without forming a committee, without consulting dog parents, activists and experts, the government has come up with biased suggestions. It’s not about the breed, it’s about the people who are holding the leash.” Stray dogs and pedigree guard dogs are instinctively protective of their territory, which is one of the reasons people get bitten. Last year, Jaydipsinh Rathod was on his motorcycle when he was chased by stray dogs in Jamnagar; he had a fatal accident while trying to escape. The dilemma is that stray dogs by nature are foragers and Pit Bull Terrier The Ban List Here’s the list of dog breeds whose import, sale and breeding was banned by March 12 notification of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India Pit Bull Terrier Tosa Inu American Staffordshire Terrier Fila Brasileiro Dogo Argentino American Bulldog Boerboel Kangal Central Asian Shepherd Dog Caucasian Shepherd Dog South Russian Shepherd Dog Tornjak Sarplaninac Tosa Inu Mastiff Moscow Guard Dog cannot be trained. Which explains the countrywide fatalities from dog bites; the poor have it the worst— in January a seven-month old baby was killed in Bhopal by stray dogs in a locality where his mother worked as a maid. American Bulldog Japanese Tosa Akita Mastiffs Terriers Rhodesian Ridgeback Wolf Dogs Canario Akbash Dog Moscow Guard Dog Wolf Dogs Cane Corso Bandog A video of the horrifying attack showed the infant's arm being ripped off by the dogs. But indie activists will have none of it, defending their pet cause. A PETA official told a reporter Turn to page 2 18,000-20,000 27.5 lakh is the estimated annual number of rabies deaths in India. More than half of reported rabies cases and deaths are in children under the age of 15 is the number of dog bite cases recorded in India last year, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. This number was much lower at 21.8 lakh in 2022. With 4.35 lakh cases, Maharashtra recorded the highest number of dog bites last year
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