Extreme animosity between man and animal has reached its pinnacle in some Indian states. Kerala tops the list. Owing to corruption and negligence by government and local bodies, unchecked breeding and littering of stray animals, especially dogs, continues to increase.

Culling of dogs by poisoning or by use of other methods has become very common in Kerala.

Mr. Shaji, a 43-year-old autorickshaw driver serves as a perfect example of how the unwanted conflict between men and animal is turning men into animal killers.

Recently, Animal Welfare Board of India filed a complaint against Mr. Shaji for poising over 130 dogs. Shaji, at his hometown Muvattupuzha, freely admits to all these killings and is even ready to go for jail for it.

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For him dogs are pure menace, and regular cases of dog bites in the city support his case. However, his hate for stray dogs is very personal, which was fueled after he had to spend about Rs. 95,000 (about $1, 600) on his son’s treatment when he was bitten by a stray dog.

His 5-year-old son is a patient of hemophilia – rare medical condition wherein blood doesn’t clot normally, neither internal nor external. The dog is bite considered to have bled his son profusely.

“I don’t want to see other children being bitten by dogs,” said Mr Shaji.

In his view, he is killing the dogs for a ‘cause’, as the government and the panchayat have done nothing to avert dog bites, and he adds, “I don’t mind going to jail for this.”

When Municipal Chairman UR Babu was asked about MC’s measures to check dog population, he simply replied that sterilizing dogs was not a viable option for the local body, it must be attended by the government, he added.

Shaji isn’t the only one who has taken the matter into his own hands. Many others are contributing to mass culling of dogs, especially in Ernakulum and Kannur district, where local groups have announced rewards for killing stray dogs.

Earlier, when pictures of trucks and mass graves of stray dogs went viral on social media, the inhumane mass culling of dogs stirred worldwide protest and campaign to boycott Kerala.

Apparently, increasing number of stray dogs and increasing human population in urban places has resulted in a war for space and food. Amid depleting rural atmosphere where dogs shared a healthy relationship with humans, the dogs now find themselves trapped within concrete structures and they have adapted to urbanization quite undesirably. If humans are clearing forests to expand cities, they must ponder over the fate of stray animals.

The government and local bodies could have taken appropriate measures to check increasing population, but they didn’t. Now, common men have taken the matter into their own hands, killing dogs in any which way they can.

Shimla capital city of Himachal Pradesh, is facing a similar man vs dog conflict. Government and Shimla MC has no dog shelter arrangement in Shimla, neither there is any sterilization program working adequately.

In Shimla, more than dogs, monkeys have become a menace for people. The state is appealing to the center government to declare monkeys vermin, so that they could be culled or sold in international market for medical experiments or for testing of cosmetics. The government cares less about ethical issues, and is ready to embrace cruelty without hesitation.