Born free, but not to roam in city

CHENNAI: Though the proverbial Universal law requires man and animal to co-exist peacefully, humans, being the notorious rule-breakers in all forms, have taken inter-specie conflicts to new heights.

Case in point: stray cattle on the city roads. The population of stray animals like cows, buffaloes, goats, pigs and dogs has surged immeasurably causing a nuisance to commuters and pedestrians.

The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) claims that it has taken several measures to prevent cattle from roaming on the city roads. However, the reality couldn’t be farther from the truth. While animal lovers and cattle owners have been voicing their concerns against the Corporation’s modus operandi in catching the strays, attacks on unsuspecting denizens within the corporation’s limit, and several accidents due to the sudden appearance of cattle on the main roads have become the norm these days.

However, the GCC has conducted a survey on the number of stray dogs in the city, and also issued licenses to cattle sheds to control the menace.

There are many reasons for the spiking number of strays in the city including poor solid waste management, lack of enforcement and penalty imposed by the government on cattle owners, and of course, lack of awareness and willingness among the public to follow measures taken to control the population of strays.

Poor waste management

There have been many cases of stray animals attacking people, especially children. The main culprits in the menace are the people, experts opined.

“As long as people throw their household trash and left-over food on the street, the population of stray animals will continue to grow in the neighbourhoods,” said C Raghukumar, a civic activist.

He added it was similar to the irresponsible behaviour of cattle owners who don’t feed their animals properly and let them roam on the streets. “Stray cattle can be seen mostly near areas where garbage is dumped, and also near temples and marriage halls where people choose to feed them with left-over food, bananas, agathi keerai etc,” pointed out Raghu. “Animals will keep going back to the place they get food, whether from humans or on the streets. The onus is entirely on the GCC officials to enforce the existing rules effectively.”

Additionally, most cattle owners in the city do not have space to tie up their animals. So, these animals can be seen tied to electric poles and long pipes in and around the adjoining streets causing nuisance to the public. Even the Corporation office is not spared. Sometimes, the whole street, especially the small lanes of Mylapore and Triplicane, are used as a cowshed by several dairy-business owners. These areas have become a hotspot for cattle menace.

“Street hawkers selling vegetables and fruits are also to blame. They dump unsold and rotten waste on the road and the cattle feed on it. Earlier, vendors would collect the unsold vegetables and sell them to the hotel or hostel at the lowest price,” said R Ramesh, a resident of Mylapore. “But now they dump on the streets, which attracts stray animals, who very soon, become territorial about the space.”

Concurring with him was Raghukumar, who added that dogs too, are territorial animals and become dependent on the people for their food. “A continuous supply of food is a fertile breeding ground for dogs. The Corporation must enforce strict norms to curtail litterbugs in our society. Dogs will automatically move away to other areas once this issue is addressed,” he pointed out.

They both condemned the delayed action of Corporation authorities in removing encroachments and enforcing the rules/law against errant owners.

No action on complaints

Residents lament over the futility of registering complaints with the local body as follow-up and rectification of civic issues are almost always nil. Though multiple pleas were also raised to zonal authorities and complaints were posted on social media, the civic body has failed to resolve the issue.

“Recently, we raised a complaint on the Namma Chennai application regarding cattle menace in the neighbourhood. Without visiting the place and actually addressing our concern, the reply we received from the app was that the issue had been resolved. A photo of the cattle cleared from the mentioned area was uploaded by the authorities. The only problem: it was an old photo. It’s a waste of time and energy to raise complaints with the local body,” fumed Ramesh.

Similarly, many residents told DT Next that they have never seen a Corporation vehicle catching stray dogs or cattle in their neighbourhood in the past few months. Dogs and cattle were found loitering on the streets and also on main roads in and around the neighbourhood.

Urging the local body to increase the fine amount, B Ravi, a resident of Nanganallur, said: “The penalty amount should be Rs 10,000 for cattle owners. And their animals must be impounded for 3 months. This will hit their businesses hard. If the Corporation enforces this a few times, owners will not violate government-issued protocols. Unless strict rules are enforced against owners, there won’t be a solution and the city will continue to report incidents of cattle attacks.”

No license sans shed

Space in the city is expensive, which is why many cattle owners allow their animals to roam around.

Many are unable to afford a shed, and those who can, do not bother. But they are allowed to own cattle, even without having a shed despite having a license to build one from the government.

J Kamal Hussain, veterinary officer of the civic body, said: “Sufficient space for an animal to rest and feed is 36 square feet with a compound wall. If cattle owners do not have that, they must not be issued licenses to own animals. And, the cattle should be impounded to the shelter maintained by the Corporation. The unclaimed cattle roaming on the road should be given to the NGOs.”