Why does animal abuse seem like a culturally appropriate act in Bangladesh?

Question

What is your opinion? How do we act on this?

I asked a Bangladeshi friend this question and this is what he said:

General Causes:

· The first causes due to the harm occurred by dog.

· Most of the time the dogs of my village destroy the food or stole the home foods.

· They often left beast in the people’s house and make dirty. Actually most of the dogs have no owner. They have no place prepared by human.

· For this why they live to the people’s house, in the night, which people dislike.

· You know that almost every house there are some domestic poultry animal cared. Even in our house my mother has 18 hen 2 c**k and a duck. There are 70 families in my village. And more than 60 families have some hens, c**k, and duck. The ownerless dogs stole the foods of the animals. You have to know that all of the pet animals is opened in the village.

· I don’t know that’ the dogs make the hens, ducks, and c***s to run. And without any reason they bite the pet animals. Every day 2-5 times some dogs specially a male giant dog make run towards my mother’s hens. Even I became angry to the dogs.

· You know kids in Bangladesh move in the village alone. They bought food from the ferry man. And eat in the road then dog come and jump over kids and bite in their hand.

· You may astonish and logics that, dog never bite man unless being beaten. But Sister you have to understand that the behavior of pet and wild is not same.

· All the people know about Rabies that is spread through dog. That’s why they wanted to stay far from dogs.

Psychological causes: The most funny but absolute cause is that the dog beating sometime considered as the enjoyment.

· Suppose one boy is playing with a piece of stone. If he sees a dog, he will through the stone to the dog without any cause. It is due to bad mentality towards dog.

· Dog considered as abuses. Like nonsense, child of dog, mother ******, dog. So you may imagine dog is considered as harmful and nasty animals.

· To prepare this causes I interviewed many people “why they beat dog? One women told me “Whom we will beat dogs or human?” (In sense it is natural and duty to beat dog.)

Some Suggestions to prevent dog beating

(From the Bangladeshi perspective)

· Encourage the people to take dog as pet.

· Ensure the Rabies vaccination to dogs.

· Inform people about the necessity or advantages to have a dog.

· Inform how to care to a dog.

· Safe way to rearing a dog.

· Inform about where the animal hospitals located and about their function. Actually 90% people don’t know about the existence of animal hospitals.

· Provide some bangle books about dog rearing.

· Making connection to the animal hospitals or doctors and the people. Because the general people afraid to the bureaucratic or complex process of the governmental hospitals.

Answer 1

It is accepted and considered normal and appropriate in some societies (today and in the past) to beat and "own" women.

Think about how difficult it is and has been to change this way of thinking, and if it is possible to do so for dogs?

Your idea about them adopting dogs is a good idea, but it still won't change the fact the wild dogs run free and ruin their livelihoods.

They look at it like I look at ants: Ants enter my kitchen, spoil my food and bite me. I kill them.

Answer 2

I was born and raised in Karachi- Pakistan where owning dog is considered a pastime of the super rich people (remember the past President's first picture appeared when he took power, having a cute dog in his lap?).

Mostly people in Pakistan and Bangladesh and such Muslim populated countries abhor keeping dog as it is considered not-clean (Napaak) to have dog touching you before you offer prayer and such rituals. You have to do the 'Wazhu' (cleansing) again prior to performing Salaat (Namaj) etc.

Moreover, the breeds of dogs those we see the celebrities and people from the "West" are shown in our TV and magazines are really cute looking than what types/breeds of dog we generally see around our villages and cities in Bangladesh. So, from the very look and also the stigma of Napaak-animal the dog gets their literal 'beating', though it is cruelty.

There were many incidents of death from the dog-bite (rabies) that itself project a very scary picture and hazard of keeping a dog as a pet in the psyche of people of our country. For instance, one of my school friends lost her father from rabies when we were in our secondary school in Karachi. There was medical attention given to him by the doctors of Pakistan Air Force since he was in uniform, but could not save his life.

Such incidences are common and one can read from newspapers that people are getting rabies from dog-bites, in compare to pet cats. Therefore, you would find cats are taken as pet-animal more than the dogs. My experience from seeing city rich dwellers and village aristocrats are that many such homeowner do keep dogs in better condition, like you see in the west, as these are very useful as companion friend as well as guards to protect their properties, particularly in the night time.

My friends from the 'west' ask me question as to what are the pet-animals I do have. My replies are that we can not take proper care of such pet-animals with our limited resources and space, hence our kids are the only one we love and raise till the time our standard of living would reach somewhere similar to countries like China where it has taken a fashionable turn among middle-class citizens to own pet-dog.