I WAS horrified to see at a TV channel a two-year-old boy badly mauled by a pye-dog in Karachi on Aug 8.When a passer-by rushed to the rescue of the boy the wild dog bit him too.

The TV image showed the boy’s lacerated face and a swollen eye. It seemed the wound got infected too. It was a horrible spectacle. As the shocked parents of the boy appeared underprivileged, I urge the Sindh chief minister to help the boy and get him admitted to one of the top eye hospitals to save his eye.

He should also be administered anti-rabies vaccine. Needless to say that it is the duty of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation and various cantonment boards to get rid of stray dogs.

It is ironic that DHA Karachi is not bothered by hundreds of street dogs in its sphere of influence. For DHA, it is a trivial matter. In developed countries it is unthinkable to see a dog which is not collared and owned by someone. A stray dog is immediately taken by 911 or similar department.

In Karachi, the population of rabies-infected dogs runs into five digits. Nevertheless, the authorities mentioned above are least bothered.

The Sindh government is in deep slumber. The minister for municipalities displays a care-free attitude as the ever growing number of stray dogs in the streets of Karachi does not bother him at all as he travels in his Land Cruisers.

During the locust attack, the army thought it prudent to meet the challenge head on. In addition to our own pilots, foreign plant protection pilots were hired and disinfectant sprayed to get rid of locust swarms, which were not harming humans but were wiping out sources of sustenance.

In Australia, when the kangaroo population grew uncontrollably the farmers viewed kangaroos as pests. In response to their growing population, the Australian government permitted licence holders to cull or shoot kangaroos.

In England, farmers kill foxes and rabbits because they are considered a menace. In rural areas, farmers find foxes to be pests as they kill chickens and sometimes lambs. Rabbits destroy the crop.

Therefore, in Karachi stray dogs (read rabies-infected dogs) are attacking children as tiny as two years and gouging their eyes.

What kind of treatment do they deserve? The simple answer is a sustained campaign against them. Cull them all or they will keep attacking children and elders alike.

The anti-rabies vaccine is too expensive. Should we allow our unsuspecting people to be bitten by wild dogs and suffer hydrophobia and other complications? In such cases, the poverty-stricken victims succumb to their injuries?

Wild dogs are a menace, a lurking danger and an eyesore. They should be totally wiped out because it is the poor segments of our society which is the most vulnerable.

A citizen
Karachi

Published in Dawn, August 29th, 2020