Death rings

In the IIT Madras campus, there are two types of deer: the spotted deer (chital) and the blackbuck. The blackbuck population has fallen dramatically over the last twenty years; in the eighties there were hundreds of them; now there are fifteen. The spotted deer have more or less adapted to live around human habitation, but they too are playing a losing battle.

In the past few years, large scale construction projects have been rampant at IIT. The very question of if at all these constructions were necessary is altogether a different story. Afterall, the Government gives lots of money to IIT and it has to be spent. Anyway, the spotted deer have been facing a terrible danger in the past few years. Rings (metallic, plastic) have been getting stuck onto the hooves of these deer. These rings are discarded pieces of pipe or some other objects which are not too hard to find in a construction zone. Once the ring is stuck on the hoof, the poor deer is unable to get it off. The ring climbs up the hoof and bites into the skin and stays there. The leg starts to bleed, infection sets in, and the deer is in terrible pain. It is unable to walk, unable to eat and it suffers this silent agony. This goes on until it falls prey to either hunger, or dogs. Finally, they die a painful death.

I dont know why people are so ignorant to this problem. Nobody fences off the construction zone and the animals wander in where these kinds of dangers await them. The building contractor is not interested to fence off the construction zone, as it will eat into his profit. What does a few thousand rupees of fencing cost when buildings worth crores of rupees are buing built? Nobody in the "higher-ups" of the IIT administration are even bothered about the unsafe practices of the contractors. I dont know what else to write. It all bloody ego and an attitide of indifference.

See the pictures of a beautiful stag which died due to a ring on its left front leg.

I dont know what to do. We are tyring to help these beautiful animals. Once the deer's leg is hooked onto the ring, it is doomed. It is very difficult for us to catch the deer and remove the ring. The animal tries to run away even if we approach near. And the skin would have been so infected that we would require to anaesthesise the deer to remove the ring. Prevention is the best thing to do.

If you are staying in IIT Madras campus, and if you happen to see any kind of ring (see the photo) please destroy it immediately. Or take it with you and dispose it off somewhere where it wont harm any animal. Please...it is a request.  ¶ 5:02 AM