Letter of protest against Bangalore Mirror's insensitive reporting on animal related issues

Tied behind a two wheeler and dragged to death
Bangalore Mirror recently reported about the most spine chilling case of animal abuse ever:  "Rabid canine dies a dog's death", (Dec 28th 2010). The online link has been removed by the publication. Please find the links to images of the original article below:

http://i51.tinypic.com/33m0dhj.jpg
http://i56.tinypic.com/29x98bl.jpg

The victim in question; a poor dog that was suspected to be rabid. It had apparently bitten a few people in the concerned area (BTM Layout, Bangalore). Instead of reporting the dog to the concerned animal welfare NGO or the city municipal corporation, the residents of the area decided to take things in their own hands.

An angry mob armed with pickaxes, sickles and cycle chains chased the dog for over 8 hours, beat it to near death, tied the dog to the back of a two wheeler, dragged it through the streets and killed it. The body was tossed into a pile of garbage.

This is the worst example of humanity, along with several others. No animal, rabid or otherwise, deserves to be treated like this. Is this the way we should be treating mute, helpless animals? Such barbaric acts need to be condemned and the perpetrators of this crime deserve to be caught and dealt with in the strictest manner possible.

Bangalore Mirror's article on this incident portrayed the poor dog in a negative light. It termed the dog rabid without having proper proof. The dog was not medically proven to have rabies. The article was biased and not objectively written. It played on people's fear of strays and almost justified what happened to the dog.

The publication should be more careful, neutral and ethical in its reporting of animal related issues and should educate people on how to handle such incidents. Whether rabid or not, such inhuman acts are condemnable.

Please urge Bangalore Mirror to be more objective and compassionate in its reporting and stop causing fear in the minds of people which will lead to more damage to the lives of friendly community dogs and other animals.
Dear Sir/Madam,

This is to object against the recent articles carried out in your publication:

1.    Rabid canine dies a dogs death, dated: December 28th, 2010:
http://www.bangaloremirror.com/article/1/201012282010122800151843648afefbd/Rabid-canine-dies-a-dog%E2%80%99s-death.html
(The article has now been removed from the online edition)
The links to images of the original article:

http://i51.tinypic.com/33m0dhj.jpg
http://i56.tinypic.com/29x98bl.jpg

2.    BBMP releases rabid dog, within minutes of catching it, dated December 30th, 2010:
http://www.bangaloremirror.com/article/10/201012302010123005405999839220367/BBMP-releases-%E2%80%98rabid%E2%80%99-dog-within-minutes-of-catching-it.html

The way the articles have been worded smacks of insensitivity and apathy. A lot of concerned animal lovers all over the country definitely want responsible media houses like yours to be sensitive towards the rights of animals and the way facts are presented to the public.

The reporters of these articles had obviously jumped to the conclusion that the dogs were rabid based on what they gathered from the people in the area. A dog cannot be termed rabid unless it has been medically tested and proved so. It could be possible that the dog had suspected rabies, but it could very well be that the poor dog was biting in self defense, which is what happens most of the times. Rather than branding the dog as rabid without having any proof and creating more panic in the minds of people, the reporter should infact have concentrated more on the barbaric way the dog was hunted down. This is not a mark of a civilized society. No human or animal deserves to be killed like this.

We would like to bring to your notice, the concerned laws and bye laws that clearly indicate that what happened was a direct breach of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. Beating and killing any animal is a crime according to the PCA act and deserves to be dealt with in the strictest manner possible. Additionally, The Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules for dogs clearly state how a rabid dog should be handled.

To quote the laws:

o    Section 11(a) to (o) of The Prevention Of Cruelty to Animals Act - that clearly defines what constitutes cruelty.
o    Section 428 and Section 429 of the Indian Penal Code - deals with the punishment for committing mischief by killing, poisoning, maiming or rendering useless any animal or animals, The punishment for which results in either imprisonment for a term or with fine, or both.
o    Section 10 of the Animal Birth Control Rules deals with the manner suspected Furious or dumb rabid dogs are to be handled.
       o    It clearly states that the dogs are to be captured by using humane methods such as lassoing or soft-loop animal catchers such as those prescribed under the provisions of PCA act.
       o    The caught dog would be isolated in an isolation ward and be subjected to inspection by a panel of veterinarian surgeon and a health officer.
       o    If the dog is found to have a high probability of having rabies, it would be isolated till it dies a natural death. Death normally occurs within 10 days of contracting rabies. In special cases, the health officer along with the veterinary surgeon takes the call on putting the dog down in a humane manner.
       o    Premature killing of suspected rabid dogs prevents the true incidence of rabies from being known and appropriate action being taken.
o    In addition to this, Section 7 of the Animal Birth Control Rules clearly explains how to capture/sterilize/immunize and release strays.

The Police officer has every power provided to him in the law to arrest any offender, found to be involved in an illegal activity. And likewise, he has the power to arrest any one who is found to be treating animals with cruelty.

Further we would want to emphasize that rabies is not contracted only from dogs. It can spread through infected cattle, farm animals, rabbits, cats and sometimes even gets transmitted through humans. It is therefore unfair to brand dogs as the only culprits without proper examination.

The publication should be proactive and present an informed article to the public when dealing about such cases. Rather than biased, panic-creating reports, people should be presented with a neutral article and simultaneously educated on what needs to be done in such cases and how to handle it. This will go a long way in preventing such barbaric incidents from repeating in the future.

It has been noticed that several other media houses have presented a neutral, unbiased article on this issue. Requesting Mirror to do the same henceforth and be compassionate towards strays.

We would request the publication to be better informed about animal rights and be more compassionate when it reports on such matters in the future.
The aim should be on educating people on how to handle such incidents. In the case of the first article, the dog should have been reported to the AWO, trapped by the staff and taken for further examination. If the dog turned out to be rabid after the tests, the next course of action should have been decided by the AWO/BBMP.

Both the articles focused more on how the residents of the area fear strays and the first article almost justified what happened to the dog. It paints a distorted version of the incident and plays on people's fear towards these animals that are most of the times harmless and friendly.

Also, each area in Bangalore falls under a particular animal welfare NGO. All the NGOs in Bangalore have been distributed to take charge of the respective areas that they have been assigned with. The NGO that was contacted in this case doesn/'t fall under the BTM division.
Please get the updated list of ward/locality distribution under each NGO. If you could publish it, it will help people know the right NGO to contact in the future.

The publication should be more careful, neutral and ethical in its reporting of animal related issues and should educate people on how to handle such incidents. Whether rabid or not, such inhuman acts are condemnable.

We urge the publication to be more objective and compassionate in its reporting and stop causing fear in the minds of people which will lead to more damage to the lives of friendly community dogs and other animals.

Sincerely,
Concerned animal lovers
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