Why are stray dogs turning more aggressive?

In recent years, the menace of stray dogs has increased alarmingly in cities, towns, and even rural areas in India. Reports of dog attacks—especially on children—and deaths due to rabies have become disturbingly common.

The Delhi High Court recently asked the Delhi government to take a “policy decision” on how street dogs could be shifted from the streets to institutional shelters in a phased manner and rehabilitated. The order came in a 2023 petition filed by Pratima Devi, an octogenarian woman, who challenged the demolition by Municipal Corporation of Delhi of a makeshift shelter in Saket where she lived and cared for more than 200 dogs.

The aggravating issue of aggressive stray dogs points to a much deeper societal and urban breakdown. According to the World Health Organization, India accounts for nearly 36 per cent of all rabies-related deaths worldwide, a staggering figure of 18,000 to 20,000 deaths annually, with 30 per cent to 60 per cent of victims under the age of 15.

This has resulted in a growing clamour for sterilising stray dogs to curb breeding, vaccinating them and keeping them confined to dog pens on the outskirts of the cities. The stray-dog ‘menace’ has also left people in semi-urban centres and villages divided.

Superstition drives many to look after stray dogs and feed them in the hope of pacifying malevolent planetary influences and propitiating gods or stars to facilitate access to wealth. Once the feeding is done or the desired results achieved, the same set of people drive the dogs away or stop feeding them, leaving the animals confused and hungry or in unfamiliar and hostile territory.

This double standard is manifested in the case of monkeys too. Those who worship monkeys as clones of ‘Bajrangbali’ or Hanuman, are not averse to throwing stones or driving them away from residential localities when they raid for food. With felling of trees and clearing of forests, the simian population has been forced into human habitations, and the conflict is clearly growing.

The relationship of human beings and dogs is more complex. The two have co-existed for several thousand years—as guards, hunters, companions and even entertainers. Dogs have helped protect crops and the household, they take on intruders and no matter what the circumstances of the ‘master’, remain loyal. They therefore make for ideal pets. While some of us are genuinely fond of dogs and grateful for their company, for others the exotic breeds are a ‘status statement’.

These breeds are often bred professionally and the pups sold for amounts ranging from Rs 10,000 to several lakhs of rupees. But even some of this privileged breed were abandoned during the Covid-19 pandemic and left to fend for themselves or left for the municipalities to take care of them.

Many of these dogs were not used to living on the streets and struggled to adapt, further increasing competition among the stray population. Gated communities mushrooming in the cities have also added to disturbing the equilibrium. With guards instructed to keep vendors, strangers and dogs out, stray dogs seem to have grown more resentful.

With multi-storied buildings, skyscrapers, malls and commercial buildings dotting the cityscape, the space for dogs, their foraging area and the ‘territory’ where they feel comfortable has also shrunk. This has added to their insecurity and the resultant aggressive behaviour. The crisis is compounded by a large number of people who are actually fearful of dogs and tend to throw stones or wave their sticks and umbrellas to threaten stray dogs, who often move in a pack.

Some tend to run at the sight of stray dogs, others turn away even as some walk on tip-toes, turning to look back suspiciously at sleeping dogs. Dogs are light sleepers and trained to react to suspicious footsteps. So, don’t be surprised if the dogs attack you when you try to ‘quietly’ pass them! There are also cruel children and even adults who shout at dogs in a bid to intimidate them and throw stones, hot water or acid at them.

Some do it for ‘fun’ but in the process rouse the protective and survival instincts of the dogs. They feel the urge to protect themselves against seemingly hostile human beings and bare their fangs if growls and barking do not work. It is worth pointing out that India does not lack legal protection for animals.

The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, provides for punishment for using force on dogs or attacking them in any way. Confining them in chains, starving them of food an water and punishing them for barking, peeing or relieving themselves within the house or in the premises of gated communities can get reported.

Housing societies are in fact directed to designate spaces for dog-walking and ensure that sundry people do not feed even the pets. Beating or killing the dogs is also prohibited and there are high court rulings upholding the rights of dogs. The Uttarakhand High Court, for example, reiterated in July 2018 that dogs have the right to safety, health and protection against cruelty. Municipal corporations are entrusted with the duty to enforce ABC (Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules, 2001.

Under the rules municipal bodies need to vaccinate and inoculate stray dogs before releasing them. Parallelly, there is an ongoing campaign to encourage people to adopt native and local breeds which have better immunity.