If there’s one issue that has divided colonies all across Delhi NCR, and put people up in arms against each other, it’s the issue of stray dogs. With the human population exploding and more and more areas being constructed upon, these old friends of humans are struggling harder than ever before for space. To minimize the conflict and protect the rights of the voiceless, The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) has framed certain guidelines which are, by law, binding equally upon all authorities & RWAs.
Colony has also been at the receiving end of this dog-human conflict. Since taking charge, many measures have been taken by the RWAs to resolve the issue. Animal Birth Control (ABC) and regularly vaccinating the dogs.
It will be important to acknowledge the role of the dog-lovers community in keeping the dog population in check. In fact, till the time RWA took over, all expenses for the sterilization and vaccinations were being borne by them. It is also because of the trust in their feeders who are present at the time of catching the dogs, that the NGO catchers manage to get hold of them. It is a popular notion that if they stop feeding the dogs, the dogs will go away. Nothing can be farther from reality. The dogs will not only never leave their territories but also turn extremely aggressive due to hunger. The sick/injured ones, if left untreated, will also behave similarly due to pain. The community, having adopted many strays, also runs pages on social media and has been instrumental in getting a large number of puppies adopted. They even have volunteer photographers who do photo sessions of the dogs to make them look appealing to potential adopters.
Also, important to note that all these years, the periphery of the township has been very porous, allowing the wandering dog population to come in and settle. Many dogs were brought in by labourers at under-construction sites and left here once the construction was over.
For Dog’s sake, and humans’ sake also, we hope that this saga has a happy ending. Amen!
