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Dear
Friends
With successful Animal Birth
Control programs operated throughout most of
India, few would have thought that this country
would have such a problem with stray dogs that
they would feel a need to resort to extreme
measures. Although generally this is true in the
rest of India, the State of Karnataka has
never really embraced the concept of spay and
release. The population growth of these
dogs is encouraged by the countless
unauthorised and illegal meat shops in its cities,
which not only kill their animals without any
enforced regulations, but dispose of their waste
and surplus meat by throwing it into the
streets.
When a couple of children were
killed by packs of homeless dogs recently,
the authorities acted quickly to cover their
incompetence by putting the blame squarely on the
street dogs. The fact that the kids were killed in
the close proximity of some of these illegal meat
shops was ignored. Originating in Bangalore, culls
of strays are now underway in the cities of Mysore
and Mandya and
are spreading throughout the state. Contrary to
some reports, the culls have not been declared
illegal - this is happening NOW and the victims
are expected to number many
thousands.
Unlike their Chinese
counterparts, the Indian dog killers are not
targeting pet dogs, but any homeless dogs
they find on the street are being killed using
methods very reminiscent of China. No humane
euthanasia here. Strangled, gassed, beaten to
death, injected with cyanide or electrocuted,
the dogs of Karnataka fare no better than in
some of the worst areas of
China.
You can read more on
these culls at the following
links;
Newspaper
reports
TV report
(video)
What you
can do
Our Indian colleagues
are asking that you write to the email addresses
below expressing your abhorrence at these culls
and the scapegoating of the street dogs. A sample
letter is provided, but as always please write
your own if you can. Please keep it polite -
expressing yourself too forcefully may make you
feel better but may not help the
animals.
Mr.Kumaraswamy, Chief Minister,
Karnataka
Mr.Ashok,
Health Minister,
Karnataka
Contact details for Indian
Embassies can be found
at:
Dear Sir,
I was horrified to learn that,
unlike other States of India, Karnataka is dealing
with the problem of street dogs with a campaign of
mass-killings.
Throughout India homeless dogs are
commonplace, yet in many States their numbers are
being controlled effectively by Animal Birth
Control programs. No animal population can grow
more than available food permits and when dogs are
neutered, vaccinated and returned to their own
territory, they prevent other dogs moving in, thus
limiting their numbers naturally.
When, as in Karnataka however,
ample supplies of food are thrown into the streets
by illegal meat sellers, their numbers will
obviously increase. By simply killing the dogs you
are encouraging the breeding
of replacements. Nature abhors a vacuum and
you are creating a situation in which the culls
will have to be repeated indefinitely.
I urge you instead to catch,
neuter and vaccinate the strays of Karnataka,
release them back onto the streets, and close down
the illegal and unhygienic meat traders that are
the real cause of this problem.
India has a reputation throughout
the world as a humane country, and its people are
renown for their kindness. I beg you not to let
this reputation be so tarnished by cruel,
inefficient, and easily avoidable methods of
animal control.
Yours sincerely
Name/Country
Our continued thanks for your support and
for caring enough to want to make a
difference.
From all the team at
ITD
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