Stray dogs are posing a danger

Stray dogs are posing a danger

The Hindu

`My daughter is frightened of stepping out of the house; they chase all vehicles'

# Residents say action not taken though they have lodged complaints
# Children are especially vulnerable to attacks
# There are 56,000 stray dogs according to census
# Killing of stray dogs banned, only sterilisation allowed
# Animal Birth Control programme put on hold


Bangalore: Gautami B., a six-year-old girl, is scared to step out of her house because of the stray dogs that roam about in front of her house in Channammanakere Achkat here.

The number of stray dogs in the city seems to have increased. Residents in a few areas said that though they called the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) and lodged complaints in this regard, no action was taken.

"My daughter is terrified of stepping out of the house. The stray dogs do not even spare two-wheeler riders. They chase all vehicles and bark into the night," Gautami's concerned mother said.

Leela K.S., a resident from HSR Layout, said that when she called the BMP and told it about the "ferocious" dogs in her area, the officials only expressed their inability in tackling the situation.

"The dogs have not bitten anybody as yet. But I do not think the corporation should wait for somebody to be bitten to take action. This is not a done thing. They should do something in the interest of the public," she said.

She said that children are often at risk. "Since they are small, they become easy targets for the stray dogs.

"It is vacation time and children will have to go out to play. One cannot expect children to stay indoors all day long," she said.

According to the 17th Livestock Census, there are over 56,000 stray dogs in the city, Prakash Reddy, Deputy Director of the Department of Animal Husbandry, Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP), toldThe Hindu recently.

However, animal rights organisations claim that the number of stray dogs in the city has decreased after the Animal Birth Control programme was taken up. The programme was launched by the BMP in association with four animal rights organisations — Animal Rights Fund, Karuna, Krupa and Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA). Members of these organisations would patrol the city to pick up stray dogs and take them to the pounds for sterilisation.

"The killing of dogs has been banned. All we can do is sterilise the dogs," Mr. Reddy said.

Sudhir, secretary of Karuna, said funds for the programme had not been released for the past seven months. "We have, at present, put the programme on hold. We have not received any funds from the BMP," he said.

Procedural problems

Mr. Reddy said that owing to a few procedural problems, the programme had not received funding.

He, however, said the commissioner had given permission to continue the programme.

"When we receive complaints, we visit the area to see if the stray dog is ferocious. We then take the dog away and resort to mercy killing. We can do so only if the dog is ferocious, has a permanent injury or is diseased," he said.

Mr. Reddy also said that the Government had expressed its support to the programme. "We are helpless. The programme is the only way to reduce the stray dog population in the city. The programme will be continued in the interest of the public," he added.