Stray dog attacks continue in Kerala as systemic solutions are ignored for quickfixes

The state government in June said it will move court seeking changes in the rules on dealing with vagrant canines. Subsequently, the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR) moved the apex court seeking immediate directions like providing confinement facilities for stray dogs or their culling for effectively checking the menace of canine attacks, especially on children.

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala): A three-year old girl bitten by a stray dog on the face and requiring plastic surgery is tightly held to her chest by a young mother in a hospital, with grief, anxiety and helplessness writ large on her face. This is a snapshot of what many parents in Kerala have been facing in the past couple of months as vagrant canine attacks rise amid complaints of state apathy.

On July 15, two small kids -- aged 2 and 3 years -- were attacked by stray dogs in two separate incidents reported from Balaramapuram area of Thiruvananthapuram district, with one of them requiring plastic surgery on her face. Photographs and videos on social media showed the anxious mother of the three-year-old child -- whose head was swathed in bandages -- holding the toddler tightly in her arms in a city hospital in Thiruvananthapuram.

What is worrying them even more is the fact that the dog which is believed to have attacked both toddlers was found dead the next day. The Venganoor grama panchayath has sent the canine's carcass for medical examination to ascertain the cause of death, and the affected families are waiting with bated breath, hoping that the dog did not die of rabies.

A close relative of one of the victims said the results of the dead canine's medical examination will take a few days to arrive. Vaisakh Chandran, whose 3-year-old niece was bitten by the stray dog and is presently being observed by doctors for any sign of infection before undergoing plastic surgery, said that if the canine was infected and has bitten any other strays in the area, it could have passed on the disease to others.

"That will be a huge problem for the people of the area," he told PTI. Giving details of the attack on his niece, he said that the dog entered their property from the back, where there is no boundary wall, and first attacked the child's grandmother. "The dog then attacked my niece and as she was around the same height as the dog, it bit her face," he said.

In addition to the attacks on the two toddlers and the grandmother of one of them, a 16-year-old boy was also attacked by a stray canine in the same area. Ratheesh, a resident of the area, told PTI that there were many stray dogs in the area and the local authorities were not taking any action. "We reported these incidents to the Venganoor grama panchayath. They are yet to take any steps," he claimed.

Prior to these, several stray canine attacks were reported from across the state, with a differently abled 11-year-old boy -- Nihal -- dying in one such horrible incident in June at Muzhappilangad in Kannur district in northern Kerala. He was brutally attacked by a pack of stray dogs, according to the police and local residents of the area.

Days later, a schoolgirl was attacked in the same locality by a pack of stray dogs, but she escaped with injuries. It is for these reasons that many Keralites are more wary when they see a stray dog on the road than a vagrant cat, even though the figures on bites by a feline are far higher than those by "man's best friend".

Those who have suffered canine attacks in the past, like Kollam resident Meenakshiamma who was bitten by a stray last year, are not only wary but are gripped by fear when they see dogs. Like the adage 'once bitten twice shy' Meenakshiamma said she is scared every time she sees a dog roaming around in her locality as the attack on her was sudden and unprovoked, and the treatment painful.

Aswany, a bank employee in Pathanamthitta district, shares similar views even though she was only "followed" up to her home by a stray dog. Aswany in fact has pet dogs in her parental and marital homes, but she is wary when she sees stray canines on the street, especially when she is alone. This is probably due to the reason that reported cases of rabies in domesticated dogs was 1 in 2022 while it was 23 in the same year in stray canines, according to details provided under the Right to Information (RTI) Act by the Directorate of Health Services to animal rights activist Angels Nair.

The RTI response also said there were 2,44,807 dog bites and 3,29,554 cat bites reported in 2022-23 period up to January this year. The trend of higher number of cat bites reported than dog bites is not new; it has been the same way for the past several years according to the RTI details. Yet, people are more wary of dogs than cats, begging the question why?

One of the reasons is the number of deaths and rabies cases reported as a result of a canine attack. The other is that dogs often attack in packs. Also, there have been no news reports of people being mauled to death by cats, whereas people have faced such terrifying attacks by dogs. Animal rights activist Nair alleged that the figures recorded as dog bites are skewed; she says that even scratches by playful pet dogs are labelled as bites and it is the reason for such inflated figures, which in turn create fear and panic among the general public.

This is the situation in many districts of the state, Nair said. She also pointed out that systemic solutions are not being pursued, and even if they are, the approach is flawed. "Earlier animal birth control (ABC) programmes were conducted by Kudumbashree workers who had no knowledge or expertise on how to do it. Therefore, it was never properly carried out.

"Later the Kerala High Court barred Kudumbashree from doing it. Now ABC is being done properly in very few areas. Our organisation -- Animal Legal Force Integration -- does it in Thrissur," Nair told PTI. Nair said the government was more interested in killing stray dogs than taking steps like ABC measures and creating awareness among the public not to provoke canines or any other animal.

A similar view was expressed by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). SPCA's Idukki General Secretary M N Jayachandran said there were several non-violent methods to curb the canine populace and their conflicts with humans. Carrying out ABC measures in accordance with the rules, regulating dog-breeding by pet shops and taking action against abandoning canines on the wayside are some of the suggestions given by him.

Additionally, he also said that practising proper waste disposal and management is important, so that stray dogs do not congregate in places they find to be food sources, as they could become territorial and attack anyone who passes through the area. "The results may not appear quickly, but will show in the long run. Killing dogs may look like a solution, but it is not a permanent one. It would only be a short-term quickfix to address the concerns people have presently," he told PTI.

Nevertheless, at the end of the day, "man's best friend" -- as dogs are commonly referred to for their loyalty -- is being viewed with fear and suspicion on the streets as the state witnesses an increase in canine bites, with many -- including the state government -- believing that killing them is the answer.

The state government in June said it will move court seeking changes in the rules on dealing with vagrant canines following the death of Nihal. Subsequently, the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR) moved the apex court seeking immediate directions like providing confinement facilities for stray dogs or their culling for effectively checking the menace of canine attacks, especially on children.

The district panchayat of Kannur has also moved the top court seeking permission to euthanise "suspected rabid" and "extremely dangerous" stray dogs areas under its jurisdiction. (PTI)