Lockdown hits street smartness of strays
Reduction in vehicular movement amid the lockdown has led to a unique problem of stray animals losing their sense of traffic. The change is proving fatal for new born puppies, who have no instincts to save themselves from traffic. “Lot of these puppies were born just before the lockdown. There’s hardly any traffic. They move freely and get run over by cars. Even the older dogs who had knowledge of traffic and would sit on the roadside, are now sitting in middle of the roads,” says, Amritika Phool, a Gurugram resident, involved in animal welfare.
A lack of understanding among people about animal behaviour is adding to the problem. “People who are sympathetic towards animals but don’t understand their behavior throw food from moving cars. This leads to animals thinking that any car that’s slowing down might have food. This is bringing dogs to the roads, leading to accidents,” adds Phool.
Another Gurugram resident, Akanksha Pundir has witnessed the problem firsthand. “Since the lockdown, I have seen injured puppies or piglets which have been run over,” she says, adding that authorities are stepping up to help, “Haryana Police has been incredible. I asked them if they will feed the dogs if I deposited the food, and they agreed.”
Animal activists have also urged drivers to be more mindful of strays, and requested people feeding stray animals to do so as far from the roads as possible.