NEW DELHI: With children being attacked by stray canines in the news, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi claimed to be making efforts to control the dog population. It said on Monday that 56,045 stray dogs were sterilised till February in 2022-23 and it had raised the target to 80,000 this year.“While our veterinary staff is attending to residents’ complaints, NGOs and other organisations are working on the matter,” said an MCD official. “Meetings have been held with RWAs and dog lovers to resolve the issue. Alongside sterilising, we are giving equal attention to immunising the strays to minimise chances of rabies.”TimesViewThe MCD data shows that a huge number of strays have been sterilised in recent months. However, the drive needs to be further speeded up. Also, more feeding points must be put up in the right spots to ensure that dog-human conflicts are minimised.While five dog sterilisation centres under MCD are owned and operated by NGOs and 11 by organisations and private veterinary doctors, five centres are yet to be allotted to NGOs, said civic officials. “The NGOs and private veterinary doctors are reimbursed Rs 1,000 per dog captured, neutered and released. If the dog is captured by MCD and handed over to the NGO, the payment is Rs 900 per dog,” said an official. “We ensure that the dogs are rereleased in the same place after sterilisation from where they were picked up.”With the central government notifying the Animal Birth Control Rules 2023, the role of MCD is more defined to deal with sterilisation. The civic body also plans a fresh survey of stray dogs in the city. “The last survey of stray dogs was done in 2016 only in the erstwhile SDMC. The veterinary department expects to conduct it this year,” said the official.Experts said the cases of dog-human conflicts can be reduced by allotting designated feeding points, conducting a proper sterilisation drive and implementing the ABC Rules, which state that programmes for the sterilisation and immunisation of stray dogs are to be carried out by the respective local municipalities. The Rules have also addressed the guidelines of the Supreme Court prohibiting relocation of dogs that are caught.The Animal Welfare Board of India had designated over 200 feeding points in Delhi-NCR from 2014 to 2022, which was considered too few for the number of colonies in the region. However, the newly notified ABC Rules have put the onus of designating feeding points on the RWAs and local body representatives. If there is a conflict between RWAs or animal caregivers or residents, an animal welfare committee will be formed to resolve the matter. An appeal against the decision taken by this committee can be filed with the state animal welfare board.Geeta Seshamani, vice-president, Friendicoes-SECA, said, “The Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023, focus on the sterilisation and vaccination of dogs. It is not a new solution, but it is a scientific solution to deal with the problem. With the notification of the new rules, the authorities should open more vaccination centres so that dog lovers and feeders can take the animals there.” She added that the success of ABC Rules would depend on the infrastructure since the stress was on sterilising and inoculating a large number of animals.Keren Nazareth, director, Street Dog Programme, Humane Society International/India, said the shrinking urban spaces were affecting dog-human and dog-dog relationships. “As cities grow, and we study the impact of this growth in relationship to nature, wildlife and the most vulnerable, we need to add street dogs to this research,” said Nazareth. “The much-touted ABC Rules is one of the many aspects of the solution. The missing, but key stakeholders, are communities. It is people who live around dogs who need to be involved, listened to and supported for any change that we expect.”She added, “A helpline to address human-dog conflicts in the city is one of the most effective interventions to reducing conflict, as we experienced in our work in Lucknow, Dehradun and Vadodara. However, it is not a standalone solution, but a part of a more intensive community engagement initiative that works alongside the ABC projects.”
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/dogs-tale-how-mcd-is-looking-to-rein-in-strays/articleshow/99740731.cms