After stray dogs, time to address feral crisis
New Delhi, Aug. 25 -- The recent Supreme Court ruling on stray dogs in Delhi was, no doubt, flawed. Yet, it should push us to ask a question that stands eclipsed: what about feral dogs in the wilderness?
I am not talking of the dhole, a wild dog, but actual mixed-breeds who can be found in the desert, wetlands, high altitudes, grasslands -- almost anywhere.
Dogs living in the wilderness require an entirely different lens. They are not stray dogs living in urban India, although there could well be spillovers from urban populations.
The challenge with them are the damage they inflict on wildlife and the diseases they spread.
Consider some examples -- In the Jaisalmer area of Rajasthan, such dogs find and destroy or consume eggs of the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard.
The bird lays very few eggs, and it's on the brink of extinction within the coming decades at this rate.
In Gujarat, these dogs have reportedly attacked the Wild Ass and their offsprings. According to the Wildlife Conservation Trust, "80 wild species in India suffer frequent attacks by domestic/feral dogs, nearly half of which are threatened as per the IUCN Red List". If anything, dogs in the wilderness are a major threat to wildlife.
Like their urban counterparts, these dogs too cannot be dumped mercilessly in cages. Sterilisation may help, with improved involvement from residents in monitoring and managing them, including rabid dogs.
What else can be done to reduce their numbers in a few months to protect wildlife? This should be the question everyone looking at conservation should be asking and acting on....
To read the full article or to get the complete feed from this publication, please
Contact Us.