Wagh Bakri scion Parag Desai’s death puts spotlight on stray dog menace

The death of Wagh Bakri Tea Group executive director Parag Desai has divided social media into two camps – with one side blaming the stray dog menace for his death and the other defending strays. Desai, 49, reportedly fell while being chased by stray dogs outside his Ahmedabad home. He suffered a brain haemorrhage and died a week later in hospital.

Parag Desai’s death has once again put the spotlight on stray dog attacks and the laws surrounding this contentious issue. On the microblogging platform X, the two sides engaged traded blame and engaged in a heated debate.

Those concerned by the rising number of stray dog attacks tweeted in favour of euthanizing or locking up the strays. Most members of this camp also called out animal lovers and feeders for aggravating the menace.

Senior IPS officer Arun Bothra’s controversial tweet drew support as well as outrage. “Carry a stick to keep safe from stray dogs on morning walks. If there are dog lover activists in your area, carry a bigger stick,” he wrote.
“…attacks on humans by stray dogs are increasing. Mostly due to changing patterns of urban development & lifestyle. Situation has further aggravated due of senseless dog feeding & insensitive activism,” Bothra added in response to one critical tweet.

Chirag Barjatya, the founder of ProjectFitCo, also highlighted the problems caused by strays. He said that street dogs have made roads and parks unsafe for people.

Many X users said they are forced to carry sticks to ward off stray dogs when stepping out.
On the other hand, animal rights activists blamed local civic bodies for not carrying out trap, neuter and release (TNR) programmes to tackle the rising population of stray dogs.