There will always be imbeciles who revel in mindless enjoyment like bursting crackers. For stray animals, this time is a nightmare. Here’s how you can do your best to protect these voiceless beings.
Who would’ve thought that all this hoopla and hungama can be so harmful? All this Diwali madness, after a point is fun only to us, serve only our empty-headed pleasures. And if it causes damage to stray animals, then this kind of fun is something that we should completely do away with. According to PetsWorld, animal shelters report a dramatic increase in losses of sheltered animals during Diwali.
Animals have a very acute sense of hearing, and imagine what those crackers can do to their hearing ability! Dogs have approximately 40 hertz to 60-kilohertz hearing range. It causes extreme stress to them whenever a firecracker bursts in the vicinity. You can still keep your pets safe, but what about those poor strays who don’t have a place to hide?
Let us will help you guide through this dilemma.
1. Keep animals hydrated
Place some bowls of water outside your home or near the stray animals so that they can constantly hydrate themselves. Anxiety caused due to light and sounds from crackers causes acute dehydration in animals because of increase in salivation. By keeping pets hydrated, you will not only help them calm down their anxiety but also the aggressive behaviour that is attached with unease.
2. Clean leftovers of burst crackers
Stray animals on the roads have a tendency to chew on leftovers. Crackers use a lot of toxic materials, which contain metals as well. Not only can the toxicity potentially kill the animal, the sharp metal objects used in crackers can also cause fatal injuries.
3. Centralized location
Okay, so if you’re of the gang that can’t be possibly set right, and goes ballistic when someone asks you to not burn crackers, here’s an advice for you. Listen very carefully. If you still want to burst crackers, do it at a centralized location. Often, people are found bursting crackers everywhere. To escape this, stray animals run amok and are killed by speeding cars. Bursting crackers at one place will restrict the movement of animals and will keep them away from the place during the festival, making sure they don’t lose their lives otherwise.
Read More: 5 Things That Your Dogs Know That You Don’t Know
4. Keep a list of local NGO contacts
Thankfully, animal welfare helplines become doubly active during festivals, especially Diwali. In case you find an animal injured, immediately contact the helpline or the local municipal corporation about the same. Keep a first-aid kit ready with you, just in case there is any delay of services.
5. No loose wires
Sometimes, it’s not just about crackers. Loose hanging electricity cords might lure animals to play with them. Sometimes, they get accidentally entangled in them. This runs a risk of getting electrocuted. Don’t buy wires with open ends and make sure that they do not form a web anywhere and is within reach of any animal.
Animals have as much right to protection and security as human beings. Given the present situation, we can only prevent stray animals from getting injured. The best solution, however, would be a complete ban on crackers.
We can take inspiration from villages of Vettangudi and Kollukudi Patti in Tamil Nadu that have given up crackers on the festival to provide a suitable environment for migratory birds at Vettangudi Bird Sanctuary that falls near these two villages. If these villages can do it for migratory birds, why can’t we the city dwellers do it for our stray animals?
Image Credits: Google Images
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