While our pets go to sleep with their stomachs full and heart content, the reality for the cats and dogs, roaming Dhaka's streets remains bleak. One can argue that a society's treatment of its non-human beings serves as a reflection of its moral compass. Animals that rely on the kindness of humans depend on the systems we put in place to protect them and the resources we deploy to care for them. Unfortunately, those systems were not enough to keep the streets around Japan Garden City safe for its strays.

Over the past weekend, several dogs were found poisoned to death in the Mohammadpur neighbourhood, Japan Garden City, after a long-running anti-dog campaign over the fear of disease, continued barking, excrement pollution and aggressive altercations. Concerned locals and animal rights activists have since gathered at the location demanding that the accused be held accountable while a troubling number of society members not only find it within reason—but have even left flyers condemning animal lovers.

Systematic apathy for domestic animals has culminated in aggressive stray control methods that prefer poisoning strays and perpetrating violence to investing in sustainable humane solutions. Japan Garden City's residents had a festering grudge against its canine residents—made worse by inadequate stray control measures. And as a solution to culling its stray population, they resorted to the offering of food laced with poison. Later, the streets were found strewn with the bodies of all animals who consumed it, dogs and cats alike.

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City tails: Coexisting with stray animals in urban spaces

While some of their concerns remain valid, many seem unfounded. Instead, the residents harassed animal enthusiasts, who fed the stray dogs, and NGOs were barred from entering the apartment complex's gate to adequately care for the animals. Although the animals were neutered and vaccinated, they could not escape the cruelty that befell them. A lack of awareness in our society when interacting with strays exacerbates the issue of fear and aggression. To educate our public to never chase or run from dogs that are accustomed to violence may seem trivial but such knowledge could just be the difference between life and death.

Nevertheless, the concern over noise pollution, aggression towards residents and children as well as the discomfort from the accumulation of their excrement are quite grounded. But resorting to murder instead of implementing reproductive sterilisation, adoption, feeding programmes or any number of ethical solutions is inexplicably immoral—not to mention illegal. Although laws, such as the 2019 Animal Welfare Act, prohibit the very situation we are witnessing now, perpetrators go scot-free because of a lack of enforcement and prosecution. This allows some people to continue to prefer ruthless solutions over empathetic ones. On the other hand, our society continues to resist collaboration with volunteers of social welfare organisations. Indeed, the very dependence on non-profit social welfare organisations is a clear indicator of systemic failure. Why must the responsibility fall entirely on the shoulders of those who care?

When laws designed to protect these animals are poorly enforced and the judiciary system's responses to such incidents are slow, a society's indifference towards these situations is compounded. Most deem these matters inconsequential, preferring to overlook such atrocities. Such was the case when the Dhaka South City Corporation took a drastic step, sedating and relocating dogs by truckloads only to dump them in the Matuail landfill, once again preferring to discard stray animals over implementing sustainable measures. A simple meal is often all it takes to keep stray canines from desperation, and a collaborated effort such as subsidised sterilisation and vaccination can ensure that their populations remain contained and docile.

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The silent suffering of stray animals

An impartial investigation into the incident is the stepping stone towards reform. Only when we hold our city corporations accountable for their responsibilities can we expect change to take root. Only when we continue to do our duty at the sight of injustice, can we expect our city habitable for all that lives within it.

Animal activists have done their due duty time and time again, with and without the aid of those in power. Now in a new dawn in Bangladesh, how much longer can the issue of animal cruelty stay an afterthought? Our society has failed to value life, and a shift in public perception is long overdue. It is not above us to learn to coexist better, to respect all life.

The innocence of the Japan Garden City dogs is not lost on us. The lack of effective stray control is prevalent in all corners of Dhaka. The situation is worsening with the violent tendencies of a society that struggles to value the animals that have nowhere else to be. How many naive companions must we lose before we, as well as our social systems, laws and law enforcers, do what must be done?

Faiza Adil is a final-year student at Monash University in Malaysia.

Views expressed in this article are the author's own. 

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