Background

As of 2023, according to the Times of India, the Indian streets house 6.2 crore stray dogs and 91 lakh street cats. These strays could be previously owned pets abandoned by their owners or feral animals that have never been owned. Their numbers have been steadily increasing because of edible food waste easily available on the streets, lack of predators, inadequate animal birth control policies, and an ever-growing cultural preference for “tasteful” dog breeds instead of local indie dogs. This has had detrimental public health and environmental impacts. These stray animals exacerbate the transmission of zoonotic parasites through fecal contamination of the soil and water. Moreover, they also cause transmission of infectious diseases like rabies and salmonellosis. Studies reveal that 92%-97% of rabies-related deaths occur because of infected dogs biting humans, the cases of which have been rising rapidly. In retaliation, instances of violent animal abuse are becoming mainstream and recurrent. 

The human-animal conflict is at an all-time high! And it's time we do something about it!

Infrastructural engagement, through macro-level policy decisions, as well as individual engagement become the twin forces necessary to action this change. It thereby becomes integral for knowledge systems relating to Veterinary Public Health to be comprehensively developed and shared with our communities. Moreover, with rapid trends of urbanization and increasing construction, community spaces that could be accessed by stray animals are rapidly decreasing. And the result is an ensuing cycle of confrontation between humans and animals. The need of the hour then, is to ideate and develop robust mechanisms of communication and information dissemination that can aid in education and awareness initiatives that can help reduce human-animal conflict.