Are you aware about the step’s government is taking to control the population of stray dogs? Culling is one of the major ways our society has chosen to tackle this issue. However, one may wonder what is culling? Culling basically means reduction of a wild animal’s population by selective slaughter. To overcome the diseases spread by the dogs through bites, an easiest but inhumane solution is to cull them.
Dog Culling in Pakistan
In Karachi, thousands of dogs are being killed weekly through ways such as being fed poisoned meat. The provincial government doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to create laws under which dog culling can be banned. Due to no government regulation, we hear about these inhumane killings conducted each month. Such one incident occurred during February in areas such as Phase V and VIII of DHA and Clifton.
Laws regarding animal cruelty
This does not mean that there are no laws for animals; the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals Act, is one of the two acts present in Pakistan related to animal protection. The Act criminalizes the killing of any animal unnecessarily or cruelly. Section 5 of the Act states a penalty for such killings with a punishment of Rs.200/- and up to six months imprisonment. If this is the case then why do we see culling occur at such a higher scale? the reason is simple: the laws are not being implemented.
Is Dog Culling even effective in the first place?
Dog Culling is not effective as you might think. As once an area is cleared either the dogs from the other territory take over or the remaining ones reproduce at a higher rate for their survival. The government needs to realize that they are also responsible for this as the dog population thrives on localities with open garbage dump. Once the garbage is taken care of, the dogs will not have enough to feed on and hence, they would not reproduce at such a higher rate.
However, these are not the only solutions, some people feel threatened around the stray dogs while some feel normal as if the dogs are a part of the society. One may wonder why is there such a case? perhaps one side sees no difference between these dogs and wild animals while the other side see them as a specie which has feelings, and need to be taken care humanly.
Conclusion
We live in a time where everyday thousands of people are being affected by infectious diseases. However, no one would recommend killing each and every human who is infected by the disease. Perhaps, they will vaccinate the people affected, and if there is no vaccine those people would be quarantined. Why don’t we see the same treatment with dogs? Most of the dogs are killed so rabies cannot be transmitted through their bites, but little do they know, the simplest solution for rabies is to vaccinate the dogs as this is not only humane but effective as well. Neutering dogs is also a way to reduce the population and to decrease the testosterone level in male.
These recommendations are not enough. We need to understand the nature of dogs: dogs are not inherently dangerous. They do not attack unless they are threatened (in several cases, dogs don’t attack even when they are threatened). There are many misconceptions that we hold, and we need to educate ourselves on such things.
