Coimbatore city has over one lakh stray dogs, says survey

A survey in all five zones of the Coimbatore Corporation revealed that the population of stray dogs in the city had increased from 46,292 in 2018 to 1,11,074 in 2022.

Dogs of Coimbatore, an NGO, in association with the Worldwide Veterinary Services (WVS) Taskforce, conducted the survey in all 100 wards of the city in May, September, and October, last year.

Kesica Jayapalan, founder of Dogs of Coimbatore, submitted the survey report to Corporation Commissioner M. Prathap and Deputy Commissioner M. Sharmila on Thursday.

According to the report, the population of stray dogs stood at 22,069 in the north zone, 31,499 in the south zone, 22,085 in the west zone, 11,017 in the central zone, and 24,404 in the east zone.

The survey also noted that most of the stray dogs were healthy with ideal body conditions. Only a few dogs had visible skin diseases and health problems, the report said.

Nearly 50 students from G.R. Damodaran College of Science took part in the survey and recorded the location of the dogs using a smartphone application, the age, gender, health, and skin conditions.

Of the 1,11,074 stray dogs, nearly 90% of them were adults (above 11 months of age), and 39% were female. Only 11% of the dogs had undergone animal birth control measures. The survey also revealed that 41 % of the dogs were lactating mothers and 12% were seen in large packs with more than seven dogs in a group.