Since 2001, India has implemented what is known as the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules to direct the management of stray dogs, (defined as community dogs in the ABC Rules, 2022) in addition to controlling the incidence of rabies in India.
The ABC Rules are based on the globally recognised policy of sterilising and vaccinating community animals to control their population ethically and to grant them community acceptance.
WHAT IS ANIMAL RELOCATION?
“The forceful eviction of a sentient species from its chosen domicile is not just cruel, arbitrary and unnecessary, but unlawful, unscientific and unwise,” says Sharma.
She mentioned that dogs are territorial animals, which is why the ABC succeeds in sterilising them area-wise. Shifting them to locations other than their own causes territorial fighting, which is one of the primary conditions for bites to occur. The incoming dogs are not accepted by the resident dogs.
"Dog fights mean increased aggression, which risks human safety too. So, moving dogs from their original location is an inhumane and unscientific practice," said Sharma.
Ashima Sharma explained that the demand of newly built gated communities to throw out resident community dogs who lived on the land long before it was developed, is insensitive, illogical and unlawful.
Basically, their demand implies that populations who do not live within gated societies must deal with the consequences of relocated dogs in order that gated societies may be rid of any dog population. This is unacceptable on multiple levels. It is not just anti-animal, it is anti-people," said Ashima Sharma.
What is animal relocation and how does it have adverse effects on our society?
SCIENCE BEHIND THIS
Science says that vaccinating 80% of dogs in a community provides the safest solution against rabies. This is why dogs in each community need to be sterilised, fed and cared for within that community and vaccinated annually. This creates a barrier for humans from unsterilised, unvaccinated dogs.
Not only do new dogs not enter the community, but there is no chance of rabies infection being transmitted to humans either.
States like Goa and Sikkim have recorded zero rabies cases since the implementation of a systematic community dog vaccination programme.
Even in Delhi, rabies incidence is down to less than 5-7 cases in a year. However, if vaccinated dogs are relocated, then there will be no track of annual vaccinations and again there will be an unvaccinated population of dogs living in urban and rural centres with humans.
WHAT DO INTERNATIONAL EXPERTS ADVISE?
In its Technical Report Series 931, WHO’s Expert Consultation on Rabies, which met in Geneva from October 5 to 8, 2004, states as follows and endorses that the ABC program is the only effective and humane method of controlling stray dog populations.
“Since the 1960s, ABC programs coupled with rabies vaccination have been advocated as a method to control urban street male and female dog populations and ultimately human rabies in Asia," the report said.
"The rationale is to reduce the dog population turnover as well as the number of dogs susceptible to rabies and limit aspects of male dog behaviour (such as dispersal and fighting) that facilitate the spread of rabies," it adds.
The report also mentioned that the culling of dogs during these programs may be counterproductive as sterilised, vaccinated dogs may be destroyed,” the report said.
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