20th June, Tuesday
Our dog Suli who was with us at the farm for 4+ years was poisoned and killed by a neighbouring farmer. I am mourning his death as I write this. I am not able to come to terms with his death and have lost sleep as i write this at 2 am.
His goats and cows keep entering our farm to graze quite often. We have always informed him when this happens. We have urged him to hire a man to graze his animals. It is not that the family is poor. It doesn’t seem like that they can’t afford to hire someone for this – they have a luxurious house at the main road where the road to our farm starts. Goats are rarely left unattended by shepherds. Yet, despite intimating several times of the incursions of their livestock inside the fenced portion of our farm, it keeps repeating time and again. We have never taken any action other than informing him of these incidents. His cattle damaged the rice crop quite a bit last season despite repeated requests to keep them away. Their unattended goats usually don’t come in our farms direction. But for the last few days, it had been happening that they had been searching for grass in this intense summer heat in the irrigated plot. Other shepherds bring their goats near our farm but are always around to ensure that none of their goats enter the fence where we have planted crops.
Saturday evening, after 5 pm, while Noushadya and I tried to chase his goats away from our flowering sesame plot, Pani and Suli followed us in the chase, sped up beyond us and ended up attacking the slowest goat of the herd, while the other goats ran away. Through out the second half of the day, the women working at the farm had been chasing the same goats away from the sesame plot repeatedly.
The father and son duo attacked the neck and the leg of the goat simultaneously. While we caught up to them and separated the attackers and the victim, the goat had gotten severely injured in both places. She was bleeding when we reached the spot outside our electric fence. We called the farmer immediately to rush to the spot. The goat was in shock and was not able to move. But she was making attempts to get up and run away despite the injury. We kept the dogs at bay by shooing them away with stones. Because the goat didn’t have a rope around the neck, we couldn’t hold on to it. By the time the farmer, his family and workers arrived, the goat had galloped away beyond our sight. The goat didn’t return home that night and wasn’t to be found the next day after a search.
We didn’t intend for any of this to happen. Even though Suli and Pani have chased goats and cows in the past, they had never harmed any livestock so far.
A couple of days after this incident, we found Suli’s dead body in an edge of our farm yesterday evening. One of the women working at the farm had informed us in the morning that he had been poisoned by the workers at that farmer’s farm. He has walked back to the farm after eating the poisoned meal and died a gruesome death.
How can someone who raises animals, even if for meat, have the heart to kill another animal like this? Especially, when he himself raises dogs at his home, albeit purebreds, in confinement. This is a pattern that has repeated itself. This farmer is the same guy who poisoned three of our adopted puppies inadvertently when he had planned to kill another dog for the same reason of him attacking his goats. Who knows how many dogs he has poisoned in his lifetime! Utter lack of conscience!
The women working at our farm told us that we should not have informed the farmer of this incident. The farmer would have assumed it was a leopard who attacked the goats and left Suli alone. What is to say that the same farmer would not plan on devising a plant to poison the leopard, like it happens in several parts of the country. Besides, we believe in open communication. Even though we are not in good terms with him, we thought being honest is the only action to take. We have adopted a old female Dashund that he abandoned. We thought there will be some sliver of gratitude in him.
I lose hope for humanity when such incidents happen. This is not an isolated incident and is a common feature across rural India. Vengeance has consumed our pursuit for profit at all costs.
A police complaint and investigation is not safe for us because we live at the farm, a fair distance from the village. We risk vengeful action by the farmer. Engaging with him is futile as well. He is an alcoholic. Also, there doesn’t seem to be any evidence left because Suli’s body has already started rotting. There is a good likelihood that he will poison Pani, the young puppy we have recenty adopted – Karuppi or other dogs we raise in the future as well. What do we do?
Other than mourn Suli’s death, there doesn’t seem to be anything we can do. I find writing cathartic. But this hasn’t helped either. Guilt, helplessness, anger and sadness are all i can feel right now.
– Sudhakar
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Sorry for the loss. I feel raged on such indifferent and cruel in-human behaviour. Report to police without hesitation and let them give a warning to your neighbor. Can you put a small camera around the neck of Pani? I dont see any other option to save Pani. Or train Pani not to eat any thing else other than what you give.
We are evaluating all such options.
This is going to be one of the most distressing things that I read today! Very sorry for your irreplaceable loss! Even though this is common through out rural India, it still shocks me every time I come across an incident like this. These people are just heartless and I feel and relate to your helplessness. There is nothing to stop them from poisoning wild and domestic animals in their singular thirst for mindless revenge. This is one of things that I have not been able to crack after more than a decade of living in and travelling across rural India. I just don’t know a way that would help mitigate this other than fortressing our land which I should mention that I absolutely hate and only do it grudgingly as it stops all movement of local wildlife in and out of the place. Be strong and persevere. My sincere condolences to both of you.
I have never kept the fence on during the day because of the pain it might cause to the livestock grazing through the day near our farm. Build bridges, not walls – is what i want to do. But what other choice do i have now to prevent this from happening again? If i dont complain to the police, there is a good chance that this repeats. If i do complain to the police, i will need protection from him and his thugs in the form of the solar fence. Suli was the fiercest of all dogs we had at the farm – we dont have the security he offerred either. Such a sad unsafe situation we are in now. 🙁
I totally understand where you come from. Initially when I moved to the village I had the same ideas but over the years we have realised that we need to be very dynamic in our approach and sometimes setting rigid boundaries also become necessary. I understand the threat they pose but even then I think you should definitely register a complaint. God forbid tomorrow if something worse happens, you will have a legal ground to stand on. Don’t like it but that’s how our legal system works unfortunately.
Yes. We have registered a complaint. He was asked to come to the police station and was given a warning in our presence. Let’s see what the implications of this action are.
That’s good to know, let’s hope for the best!
Hello Sudhakar, Really Sorry to know about what has happened. Pray and wish the situation to improve. Don’t lose hope, there are more good people around. God will be with you. You could try to find a well wisher of the farmer and build a good rapport. Regards, Bala
There doesn’t seem to be any well wisher of the farmer.
Is there no fencing to ensure that farmer’s goats or other animals do not come to your side.
The electric fence is there. But it isnt on during the day.