Can you legislate for kindness?

Why are laws so ineffective in India? Because they are enacted under pressure from activists, without proper analysis and for show, rather than intent. Activists are motivated by a combination of emotion, an urge to do something, even if it is counterproductive, and to make money by forming NGOs. An article on animal cruelty seeks to make an emotional case for tougher laws by mixing up incidents and motives, which led to them. The incident of a politician breaking the leg of a horse, which required amputation to save his life, was an act of extreme cruelty with no mitigating excuse. Killing puppies of stray dogs, while seemingly cruel, may have justifiable reasons. Packs of stray dogs killing children on the streets of India are a common occurrence. This is bound to produce extreme anger in parents and communities. Some people seem to possess an extreme fear of dogs, which may seem irrational, but so is arachnophobia or agoraphobia. But most of the fear is about rabies, because it is 100% fatal. A bite by a stray will need 5 anti-rabies vaccine injections and any bite on the face will need immunoglobulin injections. The total cost could be in excess of Rs 10,000, which may equal two months' earnings for a laborer. Ignorance of the writer is shown by the statement that "Pressures of city life might be pushing people to become less tolerant...", which is completely untrue. Some 50 years back very few people in India kept dogs as pets but now you can see numerous breeds of dogs being taken for walks everywhere. Pet shops have opened on every street and there are long queues at vet surgeries. A breeder in Bengaluru has imported 2 Korean mastiffs from China at the cost of Rs 10 million each. Clearly, he intends to breed them for profit. But if they are from the same litter inbreeding will result in deformities and suffering of subsequent generations. A recent winner at the Crufts dog show caused huge controversy because of her deformed back. The article demands tougher laws in line with western countries but seems ignorant of the fact that unwanted dogs, even healthy ones, are put down. That is infinitely kinder than sterilizing them and leaving them out on the streets, where they are the mercy of the weather and all sorts of harm, from vehicles to other dogs. Wasting taxpayer money on sterilizing and inoculating them is criminal in a country where 30% of children are malnourished. If a pet dog gets a painful illness it is put down so why not strays. Activists should focus on stopping inbreeding, improving standards of veterinary education and condition of kennels, so that owners can go on vacations. We have laws banning bigamy, dowry, bonded labor, gender selection and many others. Stupid laws do not work. Instead reduce the interaction between strays and humans, that is the solution. After all, dogs are not an endangered species.