{"id":35022,"date":"2023-04-23T10:04:57","date_gmt":"2023-04-23T04:34:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=35022"},"modified":"2025-04-20T20:51:51","modified_gmt":"2025-04-20T15:21:51","slug":"issue-of-stray-dogs-in-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/issue-of-stray-dogs-in-india\/","title":{"rendered":"Issue of Stray Dogs in India"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>What\u2019s in today\u2019s article?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Why in News?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Population of Stray Dogs in India and Policies to Control them<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>India&#8217;s Stray Dog Menace<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The ABC Rules 2023<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Problems with the ABC programme<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>What Needs to be Done?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Why in News?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The Centre has decided to reach out to the States, local self-governments (LSGs) and Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) on implementing <strong>the new set of Animal Birth Control Rules <\/strong>prepared by the <strong>Ministry of Animal Husbandry<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>The Rules, which came amid increasing instances of stray dog attacks, put the onus of maintaining and controlling the population of stray dogs on LSGs and RWAs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Population of Stray Dogs in India and Policies to Control them:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>At present, there are over 10 million pet dogs in the country and<strong> the stray dog population is about 35 million.<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Dogs are <strong>highly fertile animals<\/strong>, and reproduce at a high rate if enough resources are available.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Nearly 90% of the dog population<\/strong> needs to be sterilised over a short period of time to achieve a sustained population reduction over a 10-15-year period.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act 1960 <\/strong>mandates that every owner of an animal is responsible for its well-being, and it is illegal to abandon pets or allow them to become strays.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules 2001,<\/strong> based on <strong>the PCA Act 1960<\/strong>, were first notified by the Union Ministry of Culture.\n<ul>\n<li>The Rules aimed to control the population of stray dogs through <strong>sterilization and vaccination.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>The program is implemented by <strong>local municipalities and NGOs<\/strong>, with the government providing financial assistance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>However,<\/strong> the government has failed to implement effective measures to control the stray dog population and ensure their well-being<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>India&#8217;s Stray Dog Menace:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The increasing population of stray dogs deprives people of their right to <strong>life, free movement, and a safe environment.<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>According to the NCRB, there were 4,146 reported cases of dog bites leading to human deaths in India in 2019.<\/li>\n<li>According to a study, dogs were the <strong>second leading cause of road accidents<\/strong> in urban areas.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Creates huge conflict between feeders and ordinary residents<\/strong> who have to deal with packs of dogs roaming around their neighbourhoods.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Dogs are also leading causes of <strong>harm to wildlife, and cause immense loss of biodiversity.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>The ABC Rules 2023:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The new Rules prescribe that ABC programmes for sterilisation and immunisation of stray dogs are <strong>to be carried out by LSGs<\/strong> for<strong> birth control as well as maintenance of stray animals<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>The Rules also suggest <strong>euthanasia <\/strong>for \u201cincurably ill and mortally wounded dogs\u201d as diagnosed by a team appointed by the Local Animal Birth Control Monitoring Committee.<\/li>\n<li>The Rules want the <strong>RWAs to designate feed spots for dogs<\/strong> which shall be far from children play areas, entry and exit points, staircase or in an area which is likely to be least frequented by children and senior citizens.<\/li>\n<li>It also suggests establishment of an<strong> Animal Help Centre<\/strong> where complaints about dog or cat bites can be registered.<\/li>\n<li>The local authorities will be held <strong>responsible <\/strong>for any violation and animal-human conflicts.<\/li>\n<li>Therefore, <strong>the effective implementation of these Rules<\/strong> will help in reducing stray dog population while addressing animal welfare issues.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Problems with the ABC programme:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>It does not seem to have any benchmarks or targets<\/strong>. Municipalities set targets for sterilisation based on budgets and available facilities.\n<ul>\n<li><strong>For example<\/strong>, before the start of the programme, a municipal corporation would be required to <strong>estimate the base population of dogs to be sterilised<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>It would then need to set targets for population reduction within a reasonable time period and then calculate how many would need to be sterilised to achieve this objective.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>The other major problem is that the new ABC Rules require people to feed dogs.<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The concept of feeding animals in India is associated either with<strong> religious beliefs, a false sense of compassion, or a misinterpretation of Article 51G<\/strong> of the fundamental duty to be compassionate to all living beings.<\/li>\n<li>A study conducted in Bengaluru found that roadside eateries and a few households that fed dogs were the main factors responsible for high dog densities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>It is cruel to dogs<\/strong>, since homeless life on the streets is not easy, with accidents, disease, wanton cruelty and constant fear being their normal state.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What Needs to be Done?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Solving this problem requires a<strong> multi-pronged approach<\/strong> and some difficult decisions.<\/li>\n<li>The government needs to <strong>implement effective animal control measures and waste management <\/strong>to eliminate open litter from the roads.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Strict pet ownership laws<\/strong>, a ban on irresponsible feeding in public places, and encouraging adoption and long-term sheltering of homeless dogs will result in win-win solutions.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Individuals <\/strong>also have a role to play in solving this problem.<\/li>\n<li>Cities such as<strong> Ooty, Chennai and parts of Uttarakhand, Goa and Delhi <\/strong>can be showcased as better models in managing stray dogs.<\/li>\n<li>We shouldn&#8217;t be turning our best friends into our deadliest foes if the &#8220;<strong>greatness of our nation and its moral progress<\/strong>&#8221; is to be assessed by how we treat animals.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Q1) What is the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act 1960?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>It is an Act to prevent the infliction of unnecessary pain or suffering on animals and for that purpose to amend the law relating to the prevention of cruelty to animals.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Q2) When was the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying constituted?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>It was formed in May 2019 from the department of the same name under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Source:<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/stray-dog-menace-new-rules-put-onus-of-animal-birth-control-on-local-bodies-resident-associations\/article66756434.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>Centre asks States to enforce new rules to check stray dog numbers<\/u><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/sci-tech\/stray-dog-population-control-is-dogged-by-bad-science\/article66766318.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>TH<\/u><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/india\/indias-stray-dog-menace-a-crisis-of-proportions\/articleshowprint\/99137639.cms?val=3728\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>ToI<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At present, the stray dog population is about 35 million in India.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":35023,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-35022","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35022","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35022"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35022\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35023"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}