A colonial dilemma about strays: Delhi's 80-year-struggle to deal in "humane" ways

A colonial dilemma about strays: Delhi's 80-year-struggle to deal in "humane" ways

New Delhi, The dilemma on humane ways to deal with stray animals in Delhi is not a recent one, with the city's British administrators having to deal with the same issue. Even then, they debated ways to deal with the problem, with some officials suggesting “most painless” ways to kill the animals.

A colonial dilemma about strays: Delhi's 80-year-struggle to deal in "humane" ways

Fast forward eight decades, and the country’s top court is grappling with the same issue. On Friday, it took note of the "alarming rise" in dog bite incidents within institutional areas and directed the forthwith relocation of stray canines to designated shelters after due sterilisation and vaccination.

Records from 1946-47 preserved in the Delhi Archives reveal that even then, officials discussed “humane” ways to control the stray dog population.

In a letter dated April 11, 1946, the chief commissioner of Delhi wrote to the deputy commissioner expressing his objection to the use of strychnine poison for killing stray dogs, calling it “inhumane”.

He described poisoning as the "most objectionable" and "by no manner or means of a painless death", noting that the animals suffered for nearly 20 minutes before dying. He requested the authorities to adopt "some painless method", suggesting the use of chloroform or electrocution instead.

After the letter, the deputy commissioner inspected the Civil Veterinary Hospital on April 29, 1946, and recommended electrocution as the “ideal method” since it led to instantaneous death, the record in possession of PTI showed.

According to the record, the hospital at the time was using hydrocyanic acid, which killed the animal within minutes with "practically negligible suffering".

The chief commissioner also raised similar concerns about the killing of pigs, noting that they were stabbed in the heart or neck veins and "squealed loudly in pain", urging that "something more humane should be possible".

In May 1946, health officials from Delhi who visited Bombay and Madras to study the methods used there also reported that electrocution was the most “effective and humane” option, the record further showed.

"By March 1947, the office of the chief health officer of Delhi Province reported that 648 stray dogs had been destroyed in rural areas of the city, including 105 in Khera Khurd village," it read.

This debate between what is a “compassionate” way to deal with the problem and what would be regarded as “cruel” exacerbates Delhi’s administrators to this day.

While the apex court’s approach to sterilisation and relocation may seem a “humane” approach in dealing with the problem, animal rights activists have strongly opposed it, calling the move "cruel" and "detached from reality".

The question of how to balance public safety with compassion for animals remains relevant even today.

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