Opinion: Community support can go a long way in properly implementing homeless dog management policies

The issue of homeless dogs has divided society down the middle. Some people feed and look after homeless dogs and some who are either scared or repulsed by them for various reasons. 

However, there is something each person agrees with — streets are no place for any dog and they shouldn’t be there. Fortunately, dogs also agree.

To achieve this, subtle yet progressive policies have been developed by governments, but the logic of strategic policies is lost in the clamour among warring sides.

During the British Raj, streets reserved for the white were no-go regions for Indians and dogs. Now it is the elite Indians who want to wish the dogs away from their plush localities. 

To achieve the goal of ‘no dogs on streets’ local authorities regularly killed them using sadistic and ingenious means. When this failed to make India dog-free, well-meaning laws were made to scientifically regulate the dog population. It was assumed that neutering / spaying all dogs will bring their population down. 

However, the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Programme has been riddled with corrupt practices, poor training, absence of strategy and monitoring, even in the handful of cities where it has been implemented since 2001. 

While a nationwide survey of the street dog population has not been done, it can safely be assumed that there are 2-3 dogs for every 100 persons in any area. Such a population cannot only be managed or reduced by surgical birth control. 

Such efforts will need to be augmented by supporting policies with regard to dogs in general. Some important policies crystallised in this regard are enumerated below:

In 2015, the Law Commission of India published a report recommending the regulation of the pet trade in India through notification of the Dog Breeding Rules and Pet Shops Rules under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, citing that unregulated sale and breeding of animals is cruel and unsustainable. 

The director-general of foreign trade, Government of India in 2016 prohibited the import of dogs into India for breeding and sale. The policy made sense at every level. Exotic dogs unsuited to Indian climes suffer and burden the already stretched veterinary infrastructure; in a country with countless homeless native dogs, more dogs are most certainly unwelcome. 

In 2017, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change notified the Dog Breeding and Marketing Rules, 2017, to make it utterly difficult to breed dogs, considering there were already too many on the streets. 

In 2018, another set of rules called the Pet Shop Rules were notified to further tighten the noose on irresponsible sale and stocking of animals. With these two sets of rules, it also became illegal for municipal bodies to grant commercial licences to any dog breeding or pet shop premises, unless such establishments had obtained registration with the State Animal Welfare Board, which is constituted by the state governments under the chairmanship of animal husbandry ministers. The Rules were largely ignored by the state law enforcement agencies.

In 2021, the National Action Plan for Dog Mediated Rabies Elimination from India was published by the National Centre for Disease Control, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in consultation with 12 stakeholder ministries. 

It stressed the inclusion of the concept of community dogs, identification of dog caregivers to help with sterilisation and vaccination and responsible pet ownership as ways to achieve One Health. 

In the past few years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been heard in his speeches and radio programmes encouraging adoption of native dogs. The Indian army and paramilitary forces have inducted scores of native Indian dogs for bona fide military purposes. During COVID-19 pandemic, the PM even highlighted the plight of street dogs who were dependent on people for food and urged people to look after them. 

All of the above culminated in dog population management policies published by the Governments of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand in 2023. It has been recognised that resources such as infrastructure, manpower and training need to be invested towards a systematic statewide Animal Birth Control programme, but that alone will not be enough. 

Additionally, regulating breeding and sale of dogs through local authorities has been emphasised. Most importantly, pet dog neutering / spaying has been mandated under the municipal laws to prevent accidental and unwanted pregnancies in pets which add to the dog population and dog bite cases. This is especially significant because dogs in heat or mothers of pups are most likely to bite when threatened. 

Remarkably, local authorities have been directed to encourage people to adopt native dogs from the streets or shelters, because that’s a sure way to reduce the number of homeless dogs. 

People who adopt homeless native dogs will be exempt from paying the registration fee and will be eligible to use free services for vaccination and sterilisation at government ABC centres. 

Birth control surgeries, coupled with minimum dog breeding, adoption of native dogs as pets and a strong monitoring system, are a solution to seamlessly achieve the goal of an India free from homeless dogs. 

This requires bridging the gaps that led to corrupt practices, bringing in monitoring structure, laying down protocols for record maintenance and encouraging community participation. Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023 were notified after much consultation with state governments and other stakeholders. These Rules are a good attempt to address all the above and will complement the efforts of the health ministry towards rabies eradication in a scientific manner. 

Dogs cannot be wished away. Relocating dogs almost always leads to more biting. Capturing and killing or herding into pounds only results in unintentional trait selection of more aggressive dogs since more of the docile ones get killed leaving territories open for more dogs to compete for it. 

Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023 are likely to yield desirable results if the communities work with the local governments to make our coexistence with man’s best friend, a friendly one.

Gauri Maulekhi is a trustee of the animal rights group, People For Animals (PFA)

Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth

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