A resource crunch mustn't put cruelty over coexistence

The controversy over street dogs should push us all to study our own role in human-animal conflicts

- LEENA SRIVASTAVA

That young children and the vulnerable need to be protected from dog attacks and bites is irrefutable. That the population of street dogs in urban India has gone up significantly is undeniable. But, equally, the need to find a systemic management solution for cross species coexistence is unquestionable.

Hysteria around the 'menace' of street dogs has been stoked, to a large extent, by India's news media and magnified by social media. No doubt, it is the media's role to make people aware of risks to their security, based on evidence, and to 'sensitize' them on how best to manage such risks. However, it is also the media's responsibility to cover the issue in a balanced, nuanced and defensible manner that recognizes potential inaccuracies and biases that can distort public perceptions and lead to unjust outcomes.

Reports of street dog incidents by various news outlets in India are not just varied, they are often emotive and lacking in context, inviting the suspicion that a competition for eyeballs has led their frenzied coverage with little empathy for voiceless sentient beings.

The suo moto action taken by a 2-judge bench against the perceived growing threat of street dogs, professedly in public interest, was probably an unfortunate fallout of such attention-grabbing reports. Unfortunate because the learned bench then proceeded to prescribe a specific, decisive, time-bound and ambitious action plan for municipal authorities—the very authorities that have failed in the last several years to implement rules for the humane vaccination and sterilization of street dogs.