Public safety in Trikaripur and neighbouring coastal areas has reached a crisis point, with residents virtually held hostage in their own homes by aggressive packs of stray dogs. Once known for peaceful streets, the region is now gripped by panic as free-roaming canine packs increasingly target humans and livestock alike.

The gravity of the threat was highlighted recently in the coastal panchayat of Valiyaparamba, where a young girl was forced to jump into the sea to escape a chasing pack of stray dogs. Fortunately, a local resident spotted her in the water and rescued her. Within a span of just two days, two children in the same locality suffered brutal attacks, sparking widespread outrage and fear.

Life under siege
The canine threat has severely disrupted daily life across the region. Parents are refusing to let children play outdoors, keeping them confined inside even during school holidays. Livestock farmers have also taken a severe hit. Many families who depended on rearing goats and poultry for their livelihood have completely shut down their businesses because stray dogs routinely break into coops and pens to slaughter the animals.

Dominating public spaces
From the bustling Trikaripur panchayat bus stand to the narrowest rural lanes, stray dogs have established absolute dominance. Local residents note a chilling shift in animal behaviour; while the dogs previously retreated when they saw crowds, they now actively charge at groups of people, creating an atmosphere of terror.

Policy failure and stalled sterilisation
At the heart of this spiralling crisis is the failure of the local Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme. The initiative, designed to humanely capture, sterilise, vaccinate, and release stray dogs to manage their population, has ground to a halt across the district due to funding shortages and logistical bottlenecks.

The ABC centre in Trikaripur remains completely non-functional. Although the Kasaragod District Panchayat allocated ₹10 lakh in 2023 to renovate the facility, a severe shortage of holding cages has stalled all sterilisation operations. Responding to the crisis, District Panchayat Standing Committee Chairperson M Manu stated that measures would soon be implemented to expand and revitalise the existing ABC centres in the district to curb the stray dog population effectively.