“……….. Then there were all those dogs running around, and very often there was a big dogfight. All the people bring their food with them and since there is never any sort of an intermission during the day they just eat when they want to. Now, when there are a lot of loose dogs running around, some funny things happen at times. A dog will run up to some one’s dinner and grab a mouthful of food and away the dog scrams with some rocks being thrown at him, and a lot of yelling, etc., etc.”
The lone chillip during the Paro Tsechu on 13th April, 1965 who submitted the above report to “The D’Xer Magazine” published in Cordova, South Carolina, USA was the legendary Mr. Gus Browning, a celebrated ham radio luminary from USA. He was in Bhutan in April of 1965, accompanied by his wife Peggy.
More than half a century since the report, our stray dogs problem has not improved – infact it has deteriorated even further. All because of the misguided and hypocritical religious zealots who stand up for the dogs but stand down in their responsibilities in providing care and shelter for the dogs. Wagging glib tongues in compassion and allowing the problem to fester and become a problem for the society is not an achievement.
One girl child has been mauled to death – I ask you – how many will it take before the government will look at the problem with an objective mind – and do something different than that which has failed to solve the problem for the past more than half a century.
Please move off the pulpit of hypocrisy and hang your heads in shame because you have collectively helped snuff off a life even before it began.
Who will dare go and console the distraught mother? How will the society compensate her for our failure due to which her little girl has been eaten alive by the dogs that we failed to control and contain? For her – it is too late. For us too it is too late – to say that we are sorry.
I keep reminding people again and again that we should never allow ourselves to arrive at a point when we have to say sorry because by then, it will be too late.
Aau Yeshey, do you remember, how we were bothered by dogs in our dinning hall and campus in Paro Central School. Ones the seniors decided to catch them, put them in sacs, and release them far away near about Chacha and more than 50% returned again. Dog are beautiful animals with loyaty, love, and dedication. However, they become nuisance if uncontrolled. The government should sterilse them so that they reduce over time.
ReplyDeleteMinistry of Agriculture, Department of Animal Husbandry should develop a policy on how to tackle the issue. It is a national issue. Wake up political government. Do something so that we elimate them slowly without harming them. Ponds and fencing is not a good strategy...
Mere policy is not good enough . We must an implemented strategy with accountability for results.
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