Spanish Tourist Attacked By Pack Of Stray Dogs On Goa's Canacona Beach
A Spanish tourist who was bitten by a stray dog while walking on a beach in Goa's Canacona has said that she wants the consulate to issue an advisory or warning to tourists about the stray dog menace there.
Maria Zapata was walking on the Rajbagh beach in Canacona on Sunday when she was attacked by a pack of stray dogs.
Chased for 20 minutes
"I was not running, I was just walking into the water when I saw four dogs running towards me. In no time, I was bitten on both knees," Zapata told The Times of India.
According to her, the dogs continued to chase her for nearly 20 minutes before some locals came to her rescue.
"On one side, there were four ferocious dogs, and on the other side, waves were crashing into me. Every time I tried to get out of the water, they would try to get to me. I panicked and didn't know how to react. The only way I could protect myself was by getting deeper into the water, and that's what I did until help came," she said.
Want tourist advisory on strays?
Injured and shaken by the stray dog attack, Zapata said that she would write to her consulate asking it to issue an advisory or warning to tourists about the stray dog menace in Goa.
Stray dog menace in Goa
It is not just tourists that are concerned about the rising stray dog population in the beach state.
In April, a 38-year-old woman from Maimollem, Vasco, was left seriously injured after she was attacked by a stray dog outside her house.
The woman, identified as Bimal Suryavanshi, was bitten on her hands, legs, back, and head and had to be shifted to the Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMC), Bambolim.
Animal birth control for strays
The stray dog menace has been a growing issue in many cities across India, not just in Goa.
Animal rights groups have long argued that the failure to implement animal birth control (ABC) to the increase in the stray dog population has become a threat to both humans and other animals.
Last month the Central government had directed the states to deal with the growing number of stray dog bite cases under a set of new rules notified in March 2023 under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act 1960, which provides for measures to check animal population.
As per the new rules, Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme for the sterilisation and immunisation of stray dogs is to be carried out by the respective local bodies/municipalities/Municipal Corporations and Panchayats.?
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