Put the Donkey in Jail!

In Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico, a donkey was arrested on assault and battery charges and is being held in prison until its owner Mauro Gutierrez, can pay the fine of $420, to cover the medical bills of the two men it attacked. Until the monies are paid and debt cleared, the donkey will remain behind bars.

According to the Chiapas police, this is not a rare occurrence and they have thrown other animals in jail before. Once a bull for destroying the corn crops and as recently as 2006, a dog was locked up for 12 days after biting someone. Their philosophy? Anyone who breaks the law will feel the long arm of the law, be it man or beast.

Unfortunately, not even an iota of this sentiment has travelled to the streets of India, where one can clearly evince the sentiment; there are more chances of being attacked by an animal than being in a plane crash. The news is littered with articles of animal attacks. It is purported the animal attacks is on the rise in India. The streets of Bangalore fell under the threat of pack of rabid street dogs, which terrorized the children playing in the streets and the innocent bystanders. India has been reported to have the dubious honor of having the highest rate of human rabies in the world, according to Wikipedia. But the threat is not just from one quarter, but the cities were also attacked by monkeys that have gleefully joined the ranks of animals behaving badly. According to one report, if the dogs are cleared from the streets their place would soon be occupied by the monkeys, which can now roam unhindered by dogs. Recently the deputy mayor of New Delhi was killed when he fell off the balcony trying to ward off a group of angry monkeys and ended up on Yahoo’s buzz worthy odd news.

Former Indian minister of animal welfare and People for Animals founder Menaka Gandhi on May 1, 2007 testified to the Andhra Pradesh State Human Rights Commission that "the monkey menace in residential localities could be eliminated if people stop feeding monkeys,” Yes maybe, but would not the monkeys in all likelihood be tempted to attack the hand that fed it, now that the hand is reluctant to do so?. To most people, poisoning the animals would be too barbaric to bear and quite offensive. So to those people I say, “Jail the beast!”