Dogs to bite off AMC’s efforts

Tackling the dog menace has always been a big headache for the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC).

Whether animal rights activists protesting against a particular method of catching the stray dogs or people complaining about dog bites, the canine issue never dies down.

In its latest endeavour, the AMC has decided to sterilise stray dogs to contain their numbers, but as it appears it may not bring the desired results. For sterilisation, it has decided to train local organisations working for animal rights but it would take around four months before actual action is taken. By that time the breeding season, which has just started, will be over and the number of dogs in the city will multiply four to five times.

It has asked the state government to provide two veterinary doctors on deputation to train the local organisations on the process of sterlisation. “But the process is expected to be completed only after monsoon,” said Dilip Mahajan, deputy municipal commissioner, Cattle Nuisance Control Department (CNCD).

The civic body’s step to involve local organisations aims at ending the monopoly of Animal Help Foundation (AHF), the only body recognised by Animal Welfare Board for dog sterilisation.

The civic body had entrusted the job of dog sterilisation to AHF, but it has not done the job seriously, feels AMC. After it invited tenders, AMC had received response from ASHA Foundation and Animal Help Foundation. However, AHF is the only the only technically qualified bidder that quoted Rs540 per dog for sterilisation but agreed to work at rate of Rs500 after negotiation.

Till now the civic body has sterilised around 78,564 dogs and spent Rs2.89 crore on it. However, no satisfactory results could be achieved as the process of dog sterilisation was hampered from time to time with only 218 dogs being sterilised in 2007 and 800 in 2009, says AMC data.