Sterilization is not the solution for stray dog explosion
Posted on March 13th, 2011
By Dr. Mrs. Mareena Thaha ReffaiƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Dehiwela.
Reference to the article captioned Humane approach to reining stray dog explosion
in The Island, March 12, 2011, Rachel Proby and Geraldine Bouvry, we have to realize this is a major problem. Th article says ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…- ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ in as little as six years a single pair of dogs can be responsible for 67,000 new puppiesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” most must be dying but many do survive. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Even if all the dogs are sterilized, which will never happen in our country, still they pose ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ the problem of rabies ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” which is a lethal disease. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Rabies ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ may happen once in a blue moon, but for the person who is bitten byƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ a rabid dog, it will cost his life 100% – and as long a stray dogs are roaming on the road, it could be you or your child!
So the solutions are ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ three possibilities ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…”
1.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Immunize all of them, which simply is an impossibility.
2.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Kill them all, but certainly not byƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ hitting them withƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ sticks and poles, but ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ mercifully byƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ injections. It may sound cruel, but then killing mosquitoes does not sound cruel. Is the life of a dog is more valuable than that of the mosquito or ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ cockroach? ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ How do we value a life? Is it by the size? If so will someone kill a python or not? Without being emotional we must think constructively. The ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ world has been created for harmonious life and if this harmony is disturbed we may have to sacrifice some lives to maintain harmony. In this process of choice, the human beings take precedence over the others.
3.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Find dog hounds for them and look after them. The 60 million dollar question is ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-who will do this?ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Certainly the government ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ is not going to do this ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” they cannot even look after the stay human beings ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” the beggarsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ – on the street let alone the dogs. So those who do not want the dogs to be killed must get together and set up the dog hounds ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” and sterilizing ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ or not is their option.
The animal activists should not be the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”dogs in the mangersƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ by preventing them being killed and not doing anything about them either.
By the way there is some effects of the dogs we do not understand yet. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Islam does not consider a dog totallyƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ dirty, it allows the dog to be kept for protection and for hunting but not asƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ a pet, and it prescribes that when a dog licks a cooking/eating vessel, that it should be washed 6 times with water and the seventh time with sand. This prescription is not laid down even if a pig touches a vessel. So there is some effects of the dog saliva which we ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ do not even know yet. So we might as well take heed while the going is not so bad.
March 13th, 2011 at 6:43 pm
I love dogs. I consider dogs as super humans
They love unconditionally.
Killing dogs is totally unacceptable
They should be kept in Shelters and People who want can adopt
March 13th, 2011 at 7:12 pm
!st of all;do this ladys who wrote the article have any education in maths? a single pair of dogs will produce 67.000 new puppys in 6 years? that means 11166 a year? wich dogs will be able to do so? get your facts strait 1st ladys!
this is total nonsens. 2th people should stop the habbit to take evry time puppys. they like them as long as they are puppys, but as soon as they grow up they kick them out! And then they take a new PUPPY because they look sooo sweet, and are so nice for the children to play with! give them a toy!. When they keep the dog and this dog gets puppys they dump them in Temple or on the street. They forget that THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEM! they dont spend money for vacination and/or sterilizing them. 1st educate people!!!I love dogs but I dont like those people who everytime dump puppys and/or kittens in Temple so we can take care of them!!! Sterilization might be not the solution but it surely helps! we can see that in our villages.
March 14th, 2011 at 1:31 am
She is known to be an extremist. Not very intelligent. 67,000 puppies in 6 years. They must be M****m.
March 14th, 2011 at 1:35 am
THE BOI CAN CREATE AN EXPORT MARKET TO KOREA BOTH NORTH & SOUTH AS CANINE MEAT IS A DELICACY OVER THERE AND WILL EARN THE MUCH NEEDED FOREIGN EXCHANGE FOR S.L.
March 14th, 2011 at 5:15 am
Dog meat is a delecacy in Saudi Arabia as well.
March 14th, 2011 at 3:35 pm
It is beyond imagination people eat mans best friend
March 14th, 2011 at 6:36 pm
Those monotheist who believe that there are no other God but the God that Abraham found in the desert, and he is omnipotent, omniscience and omnipresent, and he had created everything we perceive, and he had got angel Gabriel to read to his prophets to make up the words in the Jewish Bible, Christian Bible and Muslim Bible (Koran), can never be nature lovers or animal lovers or lovers of anything, for these people believe everything we perceive was created before man for his benefit and consumption except the woman who was made after him that also to get his sexual pleasure.
We are puzzled for why God had created poisonous and useless animals, trees, deserts etc that is of no use to man and above all why the God had implanted viciousness to man when he created him first. Why not the omnipotent, omniscience and omnipresent God had created a perfect man in the first place. Think about it without any fear of him. Don’t be afraid; the God is nowhere. If the God is compassionate as his followers say, he wouldn’t have let all these wars to drag to get so many of his mad followers killed.
No monotheist can understand the evolution of nature and, every being and everything is a must for ecological balance that need to sustain this world.
Leela
March 14th, 2011 at 8:43 pm
“Kill them all, but certainly not by hitting them with sticks and poles”
In a similar way they kill humans in Saudi Arabia.
This woman Mareena wants to get rid of our Buddhist value of non violence to all. She is an extremist who always compalins about our way of life.
March 14th, 2011 at 8:47 pm
I will not be surprised if this woman will come back with nonsense like,
1. Don’t eat pork.
2. Get rid of Buddha statues in towns.
3. Get rid of Poya holiday.
March 15th, 2011 at 6:44 am
I think Devamitta and Sajith are being a little unkind to the good lady. She has quoted correctly from the article in the Island, that “in as little as six years a single pair of dogs can be responsible for 67,000 new puppies”. “Being responsible for 67,000 puppies” does not necessarily envisage that all 67,000 of them will be born to the original pair. 67,000 is the cumulative total of puppies estimated could be born, over a period of six years, to the original pair, to that pair’s puppies, to those puppies’ puppies and so on, all the way down.
Unfortunately, mentioning in the article, the estimate of 67,000 new puppies, has served to detract from the real point of the article. That is not about canine fertility but about the large number of stray dogs in the island and the attendant risk of the spread of rabies – and here clearly there is a problem.
I suppose realistically a range of solutions will need to be considered. Killing unwanted dogs may not be acceptable because of religious considerations. Sterilisation and vaccination should, however, be used as much as possible. It is just as important to introduce a strict licensing and registration regime which should be rigorously enforced. In some countries, stray dogs, when reported, are picked up by a ranger from the local council and taken to a dog pound. The owners need to pay a fee to get their animals back. If the dogs are not claimed or there are no takers for these dogs, from other members of the public, the dogs are ‘put to sleep’.
March 15th, 2011 at 10:27 am
Jimmy, when some men eat the meat of their best friend once they got their job done (figuratively speaking mind you), what chances have dogs? Full marks for Marina for starting a dog fight here, LOL!!