Unchecked stray dog menace puts public safety at risk

Sir,

Stray dog menace has become a huge problem in our city. Quite regularly, reports appear in newspapers about attacks on children and the elderly by packs of stray dogs.

There have been many incidents of accidents involving two-wheeler riders caused by ferocious chases by stray dogs. Many years ago, the dog squad of Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) used to visit areas with a high stray dog population. They either killed the dogs by poisoning or took them away in dog vans.

As people and associations — who are more concerned about cruelty to animals than the safety of human beings — began raising a hue and cry, the dog squad was disbanded. Instead, sterilisation of dogs was introduced to control reproduction.

Even that sterilisation drive has not been carried out regularly. Otherwise, by now, the number of stray dogs should have drastically come down.

Animal lovers who feed stray dogs daily with bagfuls of biscuits, as if performing a noble deed that earns them ‘punya’, and MCC authorities who turn a blind eye to the growing stray dog menace, fail to understand the seriousness of the issue.

There is no ecological role for stray dogs in the urban ecosystem, unlike wild or domesticated animals.

If one visits European countries, dogs can be seen in hotels, malls, tourist places and metro stations, but they are owned, leashed, trained and well-behaved. Even when taken for a walk, owners are required to carry tools to pick up                     their excrement.

Let the MCC authorities take this issue seriously and initiate a time-bound sterilisation programme for both male and female stray dogs, so that no more puppies are added and the existing population gradually declines. Stray dogs should be taken in and housed in open, fenced spaces with basic food and care provided.

— B.G. Balaji, Kanakadasanagara, 7.8.2025

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