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This is the first in a 4-part series
On August 11, a 2-judge bench of Justice J B Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan directed that stray dogs be removed from the streets of Delhi and the National Capital Region as early as possible.
The bench had taken suo motu cognisance of a news report in the Times of India’s Delhi edition on July 28. It noted that the news item contained “very disturbing and alarming” figures and facts.
The Chief Justice of India B R Gavai later shifted the case from a two-judge Supreme Court bench to a three-judge one. The new bench, headed by Justice Vikram Nath and comprising Justices Sandeep Mehta and N V Anjaria, reserved its order on an interim plea seeking a stay on the earlier directive on August 14.
Down To Earth (DTE) wanted to probe the issue further. In nature, dogs and vultures often compete for carcasses. We wanted to understand the reason behind why dogs have become a menace for humans and non-human animals alike. Could the decline of the vulture in the 1990s have contributed to the dog’s rise?
DTE spoke to a number of experts on the matter. Here, we talk to wildlife biologist Sumit Dookia, who agrees that there is undoubtedly a link between the decline of the vulture and the rise of the dog. Excerpts:
Down To Earth (DTE): What happens in an ecological niche/guild when a big predator/scavenger goes?
Sumit Dookia (SD): In nature, every species depends on others for survival. Which is why every species is important for maintaining the health of an ecosystem. Any imbalance, either decline or increase of any species, will lead to a disturbed ecosystem. The role of the predator is very important for keeping a check on herbivore populations. Similarly, scavengers are important for consuming all dead and decaying carcases, before they start rotting and increase the chances of infectious diseases spreading between species.
In a healthy ecosystem/ecological niche or guild, everything works in complete sync with each other.
DTE: Has the decline of the vulture due to the diclofenac debacle led to the rise of free-ranging dogs? Has the availability of food led to the dog becoming a top predator in India?
SD: Dogs were selectively bred from wolves over centuries, based on specific traits and characters to make them suitable companions for human beings. Therefore, dogs evolved to feed on leftovers provided by humans.
Vultures are scavengers and their food habits force them to be in direct interface with other scavengers like dogs outside forested areas. Inside forests, they compete with jackals, wolves and sometimes, even with hyenas. There is a direct link between the decline of vultures and the sharp rise of free-ranging dogs on some of the largest carcass dumping grounds like Jorbeer in Bikaner, Keru in Jodhpur and even Bhadariya in Jaisalmer, where dogs and vultures share the same feeding guild. Very often, vultures are chased away by dog packs from carcasses.
Since vulture numbers are now very low and carcasses of domestic animals can be seen unfinished in almost all dumping grounds, food surety and security has risen for human- dependent dogs, enough for them to become free-ranging dogs in almost every small to medium and large human settlement.
DTE: Has the range of free-ranging dogs increased in India in tandem with the decline of the vulture?
SD: A single site, long-term study was conducted by the ERDS Foundation in Jaisalmer’s Bhadariya Oran, where 10-15 carcasses of dead livestock are dumped on a daily basis. The dog population at the site was found to be rising 11 per cent on average annually. There were also cases of vultures being chased away from carcasses and killed by dogs too. These free-ranging, carcass-dependent dogs are ferocious and have a tendency to form packs. They go on hunting sprees, looking for wild animals in the landscape and kill chinkara, nilgai, sheep, goats and even calves.
The situation is similar in the Jorbeer dumping ground, which is also a notified Conservation Reserve for the protection of vultures, on the outskirts of Bikaner city in western Rajasthan. This notified protected area has more than 1,000 dogs, almost all of which are scavengers by habit and dependent on a consistent supply of carcasses of dead animals from Bikaner city.
On the other hand, the Keru dumping ground in Jodhpur has a very different story to tell. This was an open carcass and city waste dumping ground on the outskirts of Jodhpur city, and up to 2007, thousands of vultures and eagles used to congregate here during the winter season. The dog population was very low at the time. Later, an incineration plant was installed to dispose of all the animal carcasses as the huge congregation of big birds posed a threat to the airfield operations of the Indian Air Force. Now, the big raptor and scavenger population is very low, and dogs have consequently thrived on the urban waste.
DTE: Is there a link between the decline of the vulture and the problem of free-ranging dogs becoming more predatory in nature?
SD: I personally witnessed dogs killing wild ungulates in Rajasthan and Haryana and later authored two research papers on the issue. There is no major predator left in western Rajasthan as well as in the agriculture landscape of Haryana. On the other hand, these landscapes support a sizable number of wild ungulates and other smaller wildlife. Free-ranging dogs are playing the role of top predator and killing wildlife on a daily basis.
An online review of literature on the topic shows that dogs are in direct conflict with almost all wild animals in India — from snow leopards to otters and from Great Indian Bustards to even leopards and tigers. Ironically, more dogs than tigers were camera trapped inside tiger reserves during the last All India Tiger Population Estimation.
DTE: What consequences does this have for ecosystems?
SD: In the present scenario, ecosystems are highly skewed towards huge dog populations. They are major carrier of the rabies virus and transmit it to humans and other animals. These so-called free-ranging dogs are attacking humans on the streets on a daily and hourly basis nationwide.
Their role in ecosystems is just like a domestic animal, which is equivalent to zilch. Our ancestors bred them to become their companions. But their overpopulation on the streets is dangerous to human life and property.
DTE: How do you see this in the context of the latest Supreme Court judgement regarding stray dogs?
SD: This is a very good decision. The demand to control these free-ranging animals on our streets has been a long-pending one. Controlling their population is under the jurisdiction of civic agencies, who have a responsibility to provide safe and secure surroundings to humans.
Down To Earth examines whether the decline of the vulture could have led to the rise of the dog as India’s preeminent scavenger/predator.