More than 700 cases of dog bites have been reported this year in the southern Indian state of Kerala. In response, some people have been promoting a campaign to kill stray dogs, angering animal rights activists. Ashraf Padanna meets one such “dog killer”.
A minister recently said that Kerala had more than half a million stray dogs, resulting in frequent cases of dog bites.
An elderly woman died in August after dogs attacked her, triggering public outrage in the state.
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In response, Jose Maveli, who runs a “dogs eradication group”, wants to put an end to what he calls the “dog menace”.
But his methods are highly controversial.
He says he carries an airgun with him wherever he goes to protect himself from street dogs.
“I need it for self defence because there have been so many dog attacks recently. It just frightens dogs away. No big deal,” he says.
