Barak Desai, director of Wakpakari Tea Group, one of the country’s leading tea companies, was chased by stray dogs while out for a walk, fell down and died of severe head injuries.
On October 15, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, he ran away from stray dogs after being chased by them while he was walking outside his house. Then he fell and hit his head and was admitted to the hospital with brain haemorrhage. But the treatment failed and Barak Desai died in the hospital a few days ago.
Since then, complaints and accusations about stray dogs have been pouring in on social media. Although he is not the first person to fall victim to stray dogs in the country, the issue of stray dogs has gained more attention after the death of a fourth-generation businessman.
population has reached 140 crores and the biggest challenge is population density in a relatively small land area.
Basic amenities for people and services including health are still worrying in many areas. As such, the issues of animal care and sterilization of animals are not properly handled here.
Due to this, the number of stray animals is increasing in many places and there is occasional conflict between humans and animals. When it comes to animals, street dogs are number one.
It is said that there may be nearly 4 crore stray dogs in the country. It is known that about 4 thousand people die from dog bites in a year and more than one crore people suffer from dog bites. Tamil Nadu has the second highest number of people affected by stray dogs and dog bites.
Although dog breeding control systems are in place in many states, they are not strictly enforced. Due to this, more stray dogs are created and problems such as fighting and rabies occur among dogs without getting enough food.
What does the law say about stray dogs?
According to Indian law, it is illegal to remove dogs from the streets and dogs should not be chased. So, if a dog ends up on the street, unless someone adopts that dog, it has every right to stay there.
The killing of dogs has been banned in India since 2001. In 2008, the Supreme Court overturned the Bombay High Court’s verdict that municipal employees could kill dogs if they were a nuisance.
Article 51A(g) of the Constitution of India states that “It is the fundamental duty of every citizen of India to protect wildlife and show kindness to all living beings.”
The Supreme Court’s order said that feeding stray dogs is legally permissible and people can feed stray dogs in their residential areas.
There are rules which state that stray dogs can be taken and sterilized by the municipal staff, but then the dogs must be taken back to the place from where they were taken.
