Killing of dogs and humanity

On January 23 2012, a media organization reported that people in an area are in danger because of dogs. In essence, they want killing of dogs to be recommenced because dogs run unexpectedly across the road and cause accidents to motorcyclists and are a threat to pedestrians.

In this report too the blame has gone to animal welfare organizations once again and we are nonplussed as to how this same theme keeps on recurring in the media. On January 6, 2012 a TV station that boasts that they provide balanced news reporting and go all white clad on “Poya” days took such great delight in announcing that dog killing to control rabies will be begun and openly blamed animal welfarists for an increase in the dog population without ever having talked to a single animal welfarist to obtain their views on the issue.

To apply the fickle logic of some people to justify killing of dogs again, it is strange that these people do not want the government to deal with politicians and their escort security personnel as their fleets of vehicles emerge more suddenly on our roads than dogs do. At the manic wave of a white glove and blinking lights and tooting horns the escorting security personnel expect all motorists to disappear from the road. Sometimes they raze down pedestrians.

In this context, hats off to Namal Rajapaksa who was complimented by Dr. Gamini Weerasekera in The Island of January 26, 2012 for his “impeccable behaviour . . .” for not showing off “with glaring lights and sirens, and other boisterous behaviour. . . . Your vehicle (and the escort Land Rover) moved in a dignified manner. Your vehicle stopped at traffic intersections, and waited for traffic to clear before proceeding. You did not cut in front of anyone, did not speed and drove with the flow of traffic.” This also shows good parental upbringing and guidance of young Namal.

It is also possible that some people will want van drivers who soak the roads with our precious children's blood also dealt with as they too cause accidents to other drivers, including motorcyclists and pedestrians, besides killing our future generation. It is not a secret that a vast number of our drivers including motorcyclists, drive so recklessly, causing so many accidents.

What about pedestrians who jump onto the middle of the roads quite unexpectedly and even cows that saunter on to roads equally unexpectedly and in some areas, elephants and herds of buffaloes and monitor lizards, etc? Well, logically, the relevant people should want all of them killed too.

I see this as yet another fickle attempt to recommence killing of dogs and I do really wonder whether these people are so inhumane to publicly demand that dogs be killed for causing accidents to motorcyclists at a time when the Minister of Health himself has declared that not a single dog will be killed and that dog populations will be controlled using the humane method of sterilizations.

Actually I have seen many dogs waiting patiently to cross the road at pedestrian crossings as they have intelligently worked out that they can more “safely” cross to the other side at these yellow lines.

May I suggest that the Health Ministry make a public announcement in the media that it will only resort to humanely controlling dog populations and that killing of dogs will not be recommenced, so that animal welfarists who work tirelessly (voluntarily using their resources) to bring about a rabies free Sri Lanka where both man and dog can live together, are not repeatedly blamed like this in the media for lapses in the national dog sterilization programme over the past four years, initiated to accommodate the President's humane no-kill policy on dogs?

We have a President who is humane enough to take action to even prevent deaths of elephants at rail crossings, so no wonder his son Namal behaves so considerately. I can only sincerely hope that some of our President's humaneness touches on the people and the bureaucracy of Sri Lanka, making our country a civilized and a truly Buddhist country, worthy of calling the Miracle of Asia.

Champa Fernando-Secretary, KACPAW
(Kandy Association for Community Protectionthrough Animal Welfare)