coexist
"Animals should not require our permission to live on the earth. They were given the right to be here long before we arrived. "
- A. D. Williams
Our expansive campus is home to a multitude of beautiful flora and fauna. Co-existence with them becomes essential. However, when different species try to live in the same space there are bound to be conflicts.
The idea of having an animal welfare group on campus was put forth by the Registrar and was subsequently taken up by a few compassionate students and other members of the IISc community. The goal of this committee is to create sensitivity on all matters concerning animals in campus in order to minimize human-animal conflicts. In the long run this will ensure a safer environment for humans and animals alike.
The immediate goals are:
1. Exhaustive database of the cats and dogs on campus : This helps in taking better care of them, avoids the dumping of new strays on campus and curbs the dogs which are astray
2. Vaccinate the dogs regularly : If bitten by a dog, which is not aggressive until provoked, the humans concerned should not be at any risk.
3. Spay and Neuter the animals on campus : This keeps the population of animals on campus under control and also contributes to numerous health and other benefits.
The long term goals are:
1. Have a grievance cell to address complaints regarding any conflict between animals and humans and cases of irresponsible feeding and cruelty towards animals.
2. Have a system in place to report injured animals and have a platform to take care of them.
3. Conduct an annual vaccination drive to make sure that the animals are disease free.
4. Spread awareness about handling strays and hence, in future, minimize the conflict.
Work towards the immediate goals (on points (1), (2) and (3)) has already begun and regularly updated. In 2018 we have completed a 3- month long Animal Birth Control (ABC) Drive at IISc, in collaboration with CARE (Charlie’s Animal Rescue Center), an animal rescue NGO based in Bengaluru. The process started with dogs and then proceed to cats thereafter. Dogs are being collared to mark the fact that they are already vaccinated (red collars) and sterilized (blue collars). Please DO NOT remove the collars, it only doubles the work for the volunteers. We highly suggest these Dos and Don’ts be followed while interacting with our furry friends. This will help ease the conflicts. Second phase of ABC drive and vaccination has been started in February 2020 and presently ongoing.