The animal husbandry department stated that they are seriously considering making Bengaluru free of stray dogs. This decision was made after getting many complaints of dog attacks and rabies in the city.
Bengaluru to become free of stray dogs
After receiving repeated complaints of dog attacks and rabies in the city, Karnataka’s animal husbandry department has decided to make Bengaluru free of stray dogs. Prabhu Chauhan, Karnataka’s Animal Husbandry Minister, said that the department intends on bringing the strays under one shelter where they can be properly looked after.
In a meeting with the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials and the animal husbandry department, Chauhan discussed vaccinating the street dogs in order to control their birth rate in Bengaluru.
“It is important to catch the street dogs and give them all the required vaccines so that people need not have to worry about street dogs. We are also planning to bring them under one shelter where they can be rescued and properly taken care of so that people don’t get any scarcity and disturbance by the street dogs,” said Mr. Chauhan.
BBMP’s role
Chauhan further said that regarding all the details given by the BBMP and the animal husbandry department officials we will take the decision to make Bengaluru stary dog-free.
A 2019 survey said that though the BBMP successfully neutered at least 45,000 animals on an annual basis since 2018, Bengaluru’s stray dog population is only increasing. The survey also revealed that only 51 percent of the 3,09,000 stray dogs in the city had been neutered.
However, the BBMP officials involved in the program said that restricting the stray dog population or dog-catching is a bigger challenge than it seems. “If they target 10 or 15 dogs, they manage to capture hardly one or two as the strays hide in culverts and drains,” a senior BBMP official said.
