Animals like cats, dogs or snakes have as much a right to live on earth as we do. So why can't we all coexist in peace?
The video of a dog that was recently buried alive in Agra, after burning coal tar was poured over it, was a real eye-opener for many. The dog was sleeping on the side of a road when the incident occurred. According to residents nearby, it was wriggling in pain with its hind legs covered in tar, when they spotted it. Construction workers could apparently care less, and continued laying the road. ''A road roller crushed the animal later,'' said social activist Naresh Paras, in an interview to the PTI. The carcass was later dug out and buried.
Govind Parashar, a right wing activist based in Agra has filed a complaint against RP Infraventure Private Limited, the road construction company.
The incident has sparked an uproar among animal rights activists. ''It is so inhuman,'' said Shravan Krishnan, an animal rights activist based in Chennai, speaking to THE WEEK. ''Some reports say the dog was dead. Even if it was dead, they should have removed its body from there and buried it, instead of pouring hot tar over it,'' says Krishnan.
Cruelty against strays is on the rise in India. ''Stray dogs often get stoned, beaten up and poisoned. When they give birth, the pups are relocated or thrown into the dust bin. Even people who take care of street dogs face abuse by public,'' said Krishnan. ''Stray dogs in Hyderabad were poisoned ahead of Ivanka Trump's visit to the city. Having stray animals is nothing to be ashamed of. We should really be ashamed that instances like this still happen.''
The increase in the stray dog population in the country is quite concerning. Krishnan pointed out that there wouldn't be problem of overpopulation of strays, if we are able to implement Animal Birth Control (ABC) programmes effectively. Unfortunately, there is a lot of corruption involved, and they are not done properly, said Krishnan. ''I would say our ABC programmes have been a complete failure. The surgeries done under the ABC programme of the government are not good. Sometimes these surgeries are done without using anaesthesia. Dogs get infections during the surgery. They come back with viruses. There have been instances where the dog's intestine came out post-surgery. The survival rate of dogs that undergo sterilisation is very low,'' says Krishnan.
Government apathy shouldn't deter citizens from being proactive, said Krishnan. If every street or colony adopts stray dogs, we can tackle the stray dog menace. '' You don't have to be a dog lover. But you shouldn't be a dog hater. You don't have to cuddle stray dogs and keep them in your house. Be kind to them. Don't throw stones at them or harass people who feed them,'' says Shravan.