Rampaging canine population :: Pets to pests : Alarming change
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: January 08, 2015 -

Dogs biting men usually do not make it to the news.

It should not but when dogs go on the rampage and start biting at every given opportunity then definitely it is something out of the natural.

This is what has been happening at Churachandpur in the last couple of days. From the reports that have been culled so far, at least 32 men/women/children have been bitten in the district since January 1.

A rough calculation will put the number of men/women/children being bitten by otherwise man’s best friend at about four per day.

Given the population of Churachandpur and the size of the district, there is definitely something disturbing about the figure.

Dogs usually bite when they are irritated or when they sense they are being attacked.

But the figure of about four dog bite cases a day would rule this out, for dogs would not get that irritated to go on a biting spree and definitely it is hard to believe that four dogs would feel threatened per day to elicit biting cases.

Making things all that more disturbing is the distinct possibility that the dogs may be rabid and everyone knows what can happen if one gets bitten by a rabid dog.

Not very often that dogs become rabid on such a large scale and this is all the more reason why the district administration needs to be on guard and see what can be done to neutralise the menace created by the canine population.

It also goes without saying that the people as a whole need to be extra careful and not unnecessarily irritate dogs and take up all possible preventive measures.

There is as yet no report of anyone getting rabies from dog bites but this is no reason to treat the matter lightly.

Precaution and the needed measures to prevent dog bites then are the needs of the moment.

Stray dogs have never been an issue in Manipur as say in other cities or parts of the country.

However it stands that the population of stray dogs and even cats has seen an increase in the last couple of years and this is a matter of concern.

As the term, stray itself suggests, animals specially the domesticated ones need a home and care. Dogs are no different.

Every stray dog that roams the street is an indication of where domestic animals stand in man’s scheme of things.

Some animals like dogs and cats are universally known as pets and the question here is how sensitive are the people in treating cats and dogs as pets in the true sense.

And pets too come with its share of responsibilities. An important question is how far are the people committed to treating animals as pets.

Timely vaccination, baths, training etc are all regimes that go along with having pets and it is a matter of concern that dogs which are ideal pets should today come to be known as menaces.

The transformation from pets to pests can be scary.

For the moment, the concern is obviously the safety of humans and all efforts need to be put in to ensure that the canine population does not pose a threat to mankind.

There is also no guarantee that the menace will remain in Churachandpur alone for rabies are known to spread through bites.

Sincere efforts and educating the public then is perhaps the best means to deal with the situation.