In a horrific incident at a residence in Anjuna, a boy of around 7 years who accompanied his mother while on housekeeping visits was mauled by the owner’s Pit Bull on Thursday biting him on the cheek, neck, arms and legs leaving him bleeding profusely. The boy later succumbed to his injuries at the GMC. The incident has once again triggered the debate over banning ferocious dogs in the State. It is recalled several cases of such breeds attacking humans have come to light. Last August, two minor children were attacked by a Rottweiler at Taleigao and had to be rushed to the GMC for treatment. In December last, a 10-year-child was attacked in Camurlim but had a narrow escape while recently a Dona Paula resident was attacked in Cacra by two Rottweilers while on his evening walk.
Foreign-origin dog breeds like Rottweilers, Pit Bull, Terrier, Wolf Dog and Mastiff, and another 18, are labelled as ferocious dogs. Some are reported to have attacked even the owners in certain cases of provocation. In Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, an owner was attacked by his Rottweiler so badly that the dog ripped the flesh off his arms and legs causing nearly 60 injuries.
Goans, in the past few decades, have seen an increasing fascination for adopting these breeds, possibly for two reasons — one, because the dog is considered the guardian of residences, especially in times when house break-ins have been rampant. Secondly, these ‘dangerous’ pets which require additional care and nutrition, and are not common, are seen as status symbols.
What about a ban? The Centre had announced a list of 23 ferocious dog breeds in March this year, including Rottweilers, Pit Bulls, Terriers, Wolf Dogs and others, and considered them to be a “threat to human life”. The Centre had banned the import, breeding and sale of these listed dogs, including crossbreeds and mixed breeds but eased it later due to conflicting perspectives. The High Courts of Karnataka, Delhi and Calcutta had stayed the operation of the circular in their respective states citing a lack of consultations with stakeholders.
What can the Goa government do? A blanket ban on the listed breeds appears to be impractical because enumerating and tracking such dogs in Goa would be a logical nightmare for enforcement authorities. Goa finds itself in a catch-22 situation due to several limitations, and also because these breeds are common nowadays in affluent sections of society. A new circular fixing responsibility on owners and prescribing criminal action under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita is a hurried attempt to soothe ruffled sentiments after the Anjuna case, but in reality, there is nothing much that the notification will achieve. It would be difficult to set a deterrent, especially within the confines of homes where pets are usually unleashed.
Goa is scheduled to conduct its first census on dog breeds in October, and authorities believe that this exercise will help to make policy decisions through the collated data. It remains to be seen what the government makes out of that data against the rising risks of ferocious dogs to citizens. We recall when the government remained helpless as a dozen cases were reported of stray dogs biting tourists on beaches.
While banning listed ferocious dog breeds remains out of the government’s agenda, authorities are left with limited options -- to create awareness and enforce a sense of responsibility on those who own these ferocious breeds.
