Mains Practice Questions

Approach

• Highlight stakeholders and their interests.
• Highlight ethical issues involved in the case.
• List out measures that could be taken by the DM along with pros and cons.
• Highlight best measures based on such ethical concerns and dilemmas.

Introduction

The Menace of Stray Dogs isa common sight in India. Though it has been the most loyal animal to humans, incidents of dog bites, dogs attacking childrens, spread of rabies etc. creates insecurity among local residents to walk safely on streets. With human rights, animal rights have also been recognised and there is increasing pressure to treat them humanely.

Body

Ethical Issues involved in the case

• With respect to DM
  
  • Whether he should allow for killing of dogs unabated by local people in an inhuman way or take strict action against those taking to illegal and immoral ways of doing things by themselves: Issue of balancing human moral values.
  • Whether to give preference to human rights or animal rights or to seek balance between them: Issue of applying correct knowledge and empathy towards Humans or Dogs.
  • Take quick action based on NHRC observations or wait for the Supreme Court decision: Issue of fast action and ethical governance
• With respect to Local Residents and vigilante Groups:
  • Whether to take action by themselves or wait for corrective steps by administration: Issue of responsible citizen participation, empathy towards animals or revenge.
• With respect to Supreme Court, Human and Animal Rights bodies
  • Seek balance between human and animal and right course of action in such situations: Issue of upholding Constitution, and various International Covenants related to human and animal rights with best practise

Following options can be exercised to deal with such situation by the DM

• Let people kill as many stray dogs as possible and with time situation will get normalised
  • Pros: Biting cases of dogs will reduce; people will get satisfied with their safety.
  • Cons: Relinquishing responsibility in discharging duties; allowing immoral treatment of animals for vested interest of few; people will lose confidence in administrative capabilities and may resort to such instant action/justice in future also.
• Follow advice of NHRC and allow for culling of stray dogs in district by people themselves
  • Pros: Doing duty in a legal way; quick results and check on dog bite; increased confidence among affected people towards governance; uphold human rights.
  • Cons: Not an example of ethical governance as mass killing; suppression of animal rights; letting people take actions gives signal that state does not have capacity and means.
• Wait for Supreme Court Judgement and then take action
  • Pros: Action based on sound legal and ethical basis;
  • Cons: Affected people may get disillusioned towards governance; rise in biting cases; not an example of effective governance.

Considering above cases and ethical values and issues involved DM should take following steps:

Short term measures

• Identify hotspots where such cases have been reported and cross check with local authorities and hospitals for such cases and their gravity.
• Ensure dog-bitten people are given due care at public hospitals.
• Issue advisory to public to not kill animals unless administration allows for otherwise face penalty and also helpline to report cases of aggressive dogs/dog bites.
• Mobilise local concerned authorities to such reported cases and take actions in rapid and concerted ways based on:
  • signs of rabies infected dogs; kill it.
  • signs of aggressive dogs; capture it.
• Also check on illegal selling of airguns.

Medium and Long term Measures

• Educate people by awareness with help of animal rights NGOs and civic bodies to identify hotspots of stray dogs, not feed unnecessarily, report to authorities and treat animals as humanly as possible.
• Mass scale sterilization and vaccine of anti-rabies among stray dogs.

Conclusion

NHRC has rightly observed when it comes to threat to human life such animals can be killed. But it is also a fact that animals too have rights, instinct and may get aggressive due to varied reasons like protection of puppies, rabies infection. It is important that undesirable cases that could harm humans in future like rabies should be eliminated while those without such symptoms should be treated as humanly as possible as they proliferate near humans not on their own but due to love and care from humans.