Watch: Man carrying gun escort school children to protect them from dogs

Amid reports of increasing incidents of dog bites, a video of a father escorting a group of children to school in Kerala has gone viral on social media. In the video, a man can be seen seen walking in front of the children with an air gun and saying he will shoot any stray dog if it attacks.

He told a local television channel that it was his responsibility as a father to ensure the protection of his children.



Sameer, a native of Bakel, said he was forced to carry the gun as children stopped going to school for fear of stray dogs.

"A madrasa student was bitten by a stray dog. So, all the children here were scared to go out and walk to the madrasa. So, I decided to give them security," he said, adding that his son shot the video and posted it on the social media.

He said he is not afraid of any legal action, as he didn't kill any dog. "But if any dog attacks, he will have to shoot it for self-protection," he added.

Kerala has been witnessing a rise in attacks by stray dogs. The Kerala High Court has issued a slew of directions for proper implementation of Animal Birth Control (ABC) measures and vaccination of dogs.

In an effort to allay public fears, the government announced measures including a State-wide mass vaccination campaign from September 20 to October 20 for vaccinating stray and pet dogs and opening more Animal Birth Control centres.

Apart from stray dogs, several reports of attacks by pet dogs in residential societies in Noida and Ghaziabad have also surfaced in the last few weeks. A retired teacher in Lucknow, 82-year-old Sushila Tripathi, recently died after she was injured by her son's pet pitbull dog. The post-mortem revealed that she'd lost her life due to excessive blood loss caused by 12 severe wounds to her neck and abdomen.