Scientific Understanding & Balanced Strategies For Mitigating The Human-Dog Conflict In India

Kolkata: A group of human-animal studies researchers, scientists and welfare organisations came together on Wednesday to provide factual perspectives on human-dog conflicts and urged media organizations to report on and cover such instances in a more objective and proactive manner.

Dr. Anindita Bhadra, Associate Professor at IISER Kolkata, and an eminent scientist researching the behavioural ecologies of India’s free-ranging dogs, set the context for the session. “We share a long history of sharing space with animals. Dogs and humans have co-existed for centuries in this land and they are an important component of the urban ecosystem. A scientific understanding of their lives and balanced ecosystem management can lead to conflict reduction and sustainable urban development.”

The discussion, which took place at the Press Club here, focused on media reporting of dog bites and how it is often packaged as gruesome stories of terror, using tropes such as ‘the dog menace to whip public emotions while disregarding the socio- ecological complexities of human-dog relations.
The objective of the interactive session was to build towards more constructive reporting on human-dog conflict, as the media plays a vital role in shaping the future of conflict and coexistence.
“Animals will always co-exist with humans in cities. We cannot live in a sterile bubble and cannot wish away the inevitable conflict that arises. Objective media reporting can significantly temper the narrative of the human-animal relationship, and help with strategies for mitigating this conflict,” said Varda Mehrotra, founder of Samayu, a non-profit working for positive outcomes for people, planet, and animals.