Respecting all life

The Senate Standing Committee on Interior has received multiple requests from citizens in Islamabad to deal with the stray dog population, the rising number of stray dogs on the streets, and the threat they posed to human life and welfare. This is a matter that has come up multiple times. The Senate Standing Committee was told that following a court ruling that stray dogs should not be killed, over 22,000 dogs have been treated, which we assume means they had been given vaccines against rabies and possibly other diseases, and then released from dog centers. In total, 1200 dogs were released.

Whereas the committee did propose more dog centres be set up, it also suggested that human life was more important than the life of stray dogs. This is an issue that can be debated for hours. Animal rights activists argue that it is essential that human communities learn to live with animals in their midst. While this seems like an extremely difficult task, the ACF and other animal rights groups argue it can be achieved by vaccinating dogs against dangerous diseases and through a mass campaign of spaying and neutering stray animals to control their populations. It should also be noted that in so many other countries, human and animal populations share spaces without such acrimony, with states and citizens feeding stray dogs and cats regularly, bathing them, and taking care of them.

Given the general hostility to dogs on the streets, it may be difficult to achieve such an arrangement quickly in Pakistan. But as the Senate committee noted, at the very least, more dog centres and shelters can be created on the model set by ACF. Killing dogs by shooting them or poisoning them which causes a painful and long-drawn death is not the solution. A better one has to be found and the only way to achieve this is to innovate, make people more aware of the rights of animals and teach people how to live with the animals that exist in their environment. It also means the state taking responsibility to protect all life on its soil – human, animal, and plant.