Who, in fact, let the dogs out?
Although we are very recently observing a rise in the number of people who love dogs, it still seems to hold true that many people here have a negative opinion about them, with plenty even feeling particularly hateful towards them at times. Why is that?
Stray dogs.
Scary. Bites. Garbage. Rabies.
But also, cute, sad.
These are some of the most common responses from a few random people who were asked to say the first word that came to their minds when they thought of stray dogs.
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What goes through your head when you think of dogs?
How do you think the general public in Bangladesh feels about dogs?
Although we are very recently observing a rise in the number of people who love dogs, it still seems to hold true that many people here have a negative opinion about them, with plenty even feeling particularly hateful towards them at times. Why is that?
Stray dogs in this country have been a problem for years. Currently, there are over 3 million free-roaming dogs. They carry with them various dangers, such as (but not limited to) ticks, lice, fleas, roundworms, hookworms, tetanus, and what is probably the most well-known zoonotic disease, rabies. It is estimated that around 2000 people die from rabies in Bangladesh annually, with 98% of them having contracted the disease from dogs. An overwhelming majority of stray dogs tend to survive off garbage, spending most of their time scavenging in landfills and piles of waste on the streets and, in turn, carrying a myriad of problems that spread to humans. Dog attacks have also risen in number in the past year.
That sounds about right for what many people view as unclean pests, don't you think?
Perhaps this will come as a surprise, perhaps not, but stray dogs being a problem can be mostly credited to human irresponsibility, much like many other problems humans face.
It seems that although we are constantly talking about how these stray dogs inconvenience humans, we often brush over how much harm we bring to them and how spectacularly we continue to mismanage the situation.
One of the most infamous problems that come with stray dogs is rabies, but there is barely any awareness about it. People know that they can get rabies from dogs, but they don't seem to realise that they can get it from many other sources, too. There is also very little education about how to treat someone who has been in contact with a rabid dog. This might be new information to some people, but the government of Bangladesh actually provides free vaccines to people who have been bitten by animals.
Another thing to consider is treating the problem at its root. Interestingly enough, people don't seem to care much about the canine victims of rabies. Only 6% of dogs in this country are afflicted with the disease. While there have been attempts in the past to vaccinate as many stray dogs as possible, these attempts have not been seen to completion. The Health Ministry had actually started a solid plan to vaccinate stray dogs against rabies, but the initiative did not continue after the first round due to the pandemic. There are quite a few nations in the world that have been declared rabies-free, such as Australia, Barbados, Ireland, New Zealand, Jamaica, etc., and Bangladesh set plans in 2015 to follow suit by setting a target of completely eradicating canine rabies by 2030.
An important piece of information to also factor in is sterilisation. Once again, though there was some attempt to mass sterilise stray dogs, it never came to completion. Not only would sterilisation prevent overpopulation, but sterilised dogs are also statistically less likely to bite than unsterilised ones. It should also be noted that overpopulation and illnesses are largely exacerbated by our inability to properly manage waste. Garbage is simply taken from one location to another and shuffled around or left on the streets. This should alarm us even outside of this context, because this applies to all sorts of garbage, from household waste to medical waste.
The government has also tried to control the stray dog population by relocating them, and it is exactly what it sounds like. In 2020, the DSCC (Dhaka South City Corporation) made a decision to relocate 30,000 dogs out of the capital, but it drew criticism from many people and animal welfare organisations. A writ petition being filed with the high court led to a pause in their illegal activities, but they still quietly continue their operation on and off on a smaller scale. Relocation of stray dogs that aren't actively causing harm is illegal, according to the Animal Welfare Act. These dogs are kidnapped from where they live, transported to a different area, and let loose. This causes immense psychological and physical stress for the dogs. Having to suddenly navigate an unfamiliar area after being unceremoniously moved (usually using quite violent and unethical methods) and not knowing where to find things such as food and shelter can also contribute to dogs becoming defensive and aggressive.
Another notable solution the city authorities resorted to to keep the dog population under control was by killing around 20,000 dogs every year, which was only banned in 2015. Senior District and Session Judge Jakir Hossain, who provided a legal perspective on this topic, is of the opinion that high rates of animal abuse can be attributed to the fact that people don't even seem to know that animals in fact have rights. When asked if there is some kind of law that allows the relocation or mass killing of dogs, his answer was negative.
"No, there is [no such law] relative to [this] situation... Many times you will see the City Corporation people [catch] some dogs from the street, [take] them to a particular place, and [kill] them. This is a kind of violation of animal rights. No animal [can be killed] without any cause or reason."
He also mentioned how rare it is for cases of animal abuse to come to court due to a lack of knowledge regarding the law and insufficient funds, and even when it does happen, the punishment for animal abuse is very light. He informed me that although there are laws in place, the most they are charged with is a fine of a few hundred to a few thousand taka or a few months in jail.
Judge Hossain heavily emphasised how little awareness there is about the rights of animals.
"The topic is very important, and when he [asked me for an interview] regarding animal rights, I thought and thought, 'animal rights'... I am working for an establishment to ensure the rights of humans. and I myself have never thought about the rights of animals. How is this possible? If I am not aware, who will be aware?"
Although there are, thankfully, several organisations in Bangladesh that help stray dogs, such as the PAW Foundation and Obhoyaronno, these innocent animals need an intervention on a much larger scale. Proper education, raising awareness, proper disposal of garbage, mass vaccination, and mass sterilisation are all steps that we can start with to create safer and more comfortable living conditions for these animals that rely on our responsibility. It is high time something is done to help the stray dog population of Bangladesh, which, in turn, will also be beneficial to humans.
Adeeba Hossain is an undergraduate student from Chittagong.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.
