Dog abandoned inside train in India stokes outrage amid crackdown on strays
A video that has been seen over 200,000 times on one Instagram account shows a white dog sitting alone inside a train that had just stopped at the Raxaul junction, panting, its chain leash tied to a seat.
A report on news18.com said the dog was intentionally left behind by someone who boarded the train at a previous station early on Aug 16.
Passengers boarding the train at Raxaul were surprised to see the dog that news reports described as 'clearly distressed and frightened'.
They tried to unleash the dog, but it was by then already a nervous wreck. It was behaving aggressively. It kept barking and growling, and tried to bite those who got near.
The train was held at the station for about 30 minutes.
Station officials decided to let the dog stay inside the coach alone and let the train move on to the next station.
The dog was eventually safely removed from the train and turned over to the Animal Welfare Board.
The video of the dog sitting alone and abandoned on the train set off a lot of hand-wringing on social media, mostly directed at the dog's erstwhile owner.
'Karma is watching and waiting,' commented one user on Instagram.
Another chimed in: 'You can't escape your bad deeds.'
'Where is the Supreme Court?' one asked, referring to an issue that has riled animal rights advocates across India in recent weeks.
India's Supreme Court on Aug 11 ordered the removal of tens of thousands of stray dogs from the capital, citing public safety concerns after a surge in dog bites.
India is home to millions of stray dogs, and deadly attacks – particularly on children and the elderly – are regularly reported by local media.
At least 60,000 stray dogs live on the streets of Delhi, according to India's Livestock Census of 2012, the most recent data available.
The court asked the city authorities to set up dog shelters within eight weeks, and maintain daily records of the canines captured.
The order naturally led to an outcry among animal rights activists who staged rallies and lobbied politicians to get it rescinded.
Many of Delhi's strays are beloved in middle class neighbourhoods, where they are even clothed in special canine jackets to keep them warm during winter.
But these strays are also a hazard to humans, with the Indian media regularly reporting on the mauling of young children by aggressive dog packs.
Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi in a social media post described the court's order as a step back from decades of humane, science-backed policy.
Several Bollywood actors also joined the debate.
'Yes, there are problems – bites, safety concerns – but caging an entire community of animals is not a solution. It's an erasure,' posted actress Janhvi Kapoor.
Peta India said in a statement that 'displacement and jailing of dogs is not scientific and has NEVER worked'.
The chief justice of India's top court said on Aug 13 he would re-examine the order handed. - The Straits Times/ANN
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