Sterilisation, vaccination programmes fail to make headway

BBMP asks Animal Welfare Board of India to involve more NGOs in the drive to stem the problem of strays

It was in 2000 that the city’s civic body launched the birth control programme, touting it as a long-term solution to the stray dog menace. The programme calls for the systematic neutering of strays. Over two decades later, Bruat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials told The Hindu that the civic body is fighting an uphill battle against nature.

“Dogs have two annual breeding cycles, with pregnancy lasting 60-62 days, and they give birth to six to eight puppies per cycle. Of this, half of them are usually female. Within 10 to 12 months, the puppies reach maturity and start reproducing on their own. The rate of reproduction is rapid and the birth control programme can only slowly take effect,” admitted an official.

The official conceded that the manpower shortage and involvement of fewer NGOs had affected the programme. To control the stray dog menace, extend animal birth control (ABC) and give anti-rabies vaccines (ARV) to dogs, the BBMP has asked the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) to involve more NGOs to carry out the tasks.

The Animal Husbandry department of the BBMP says the implementation of ABC, which is neutering the dogs, has become a difficult task for the civic body as the stray dogs are very agile and quick to hide from the dog catchers, while very few NGOs have been recognised to implement the programme. 

Another senior BBMP official said, “We have urged AWBI to accord recognition to more organisations for the ABC and ARV programs. The main problem is that there are very few organisations that are recognised by the AWBI to carry out the ABC programme.” 

Citizens who spot dogs without notched ears in their areas can call the BBMP zone office or helpline numbers. According to BBMP, notched ear means the dog has been sterilised and vaccinated.

The dog census in all 198 wards in the city in 2019 estimated the stray dog population at 3.09 lakh, of which around 54% are neutered. The BBMP has neutered 1,81,582 stray dogs in 2019 in the city, while 2,53,536 dogs have been given ARV, according to data from the BBMP.