Story for far
The Karnataka High Court, on October 5, expressed concern over uncontrolled feeding of stray dogs in Bengaluru, including at Vidhana Soudha, and directed Karnataka government to implement Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023. The feeding of stray dogs, not adhering to the rules, is resulting in an increase in dog menace despite the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) survey showing a 10% drop in population of stray canines from 3.10 lakh in 2019 to 2.79 lakh.
Although BBMP claims that it has sterilised 71% of strays, a proportionate decrease in the numbers is not visible on the streets, even as the civic body has been struggling to get land in Mahadevapura to open a dedicated ABC centre. Mahadevapura has the highest number of dogs. Besides, many are seen feeding dogs on the streets or in non-designated spaces in violation of the norms, adding to the problem.
What did the BBMP survey say about the number of dogs in City?
The survey conducted by the BBMP says that its ABC programme has reflected on the ground, as population of stray dogs has dropped by 10%. The survey says that Mahadevapura zone has the highest number of dogs and this is due to closure of ABC centre there. For the last four months, the centre was not working as the owner of the property asked the government to vacate the place.
The survey also focussed on eradicating Rabies and talked about the aim of vaccinating all the dogs. The survey, BBMP said, has helped them estimate the number of vials required too.
What is the connection between uncontrolled feeding and dog bites?
According to the data available with the BBMP, till September 2023, 15,000 dog bites have been reported through its helpline and it is bound to increase by the year-end. On an average, annually, 30,000 to 35,000 dog bites are being reported in the city. This also indicates lack of monitoring of strays.
The dogs become ferocious for very many reasons. According to an Animal Husbandry Department source, one of the circumstances is when a dog develops a strong feeling that it has an owner and becomes protective of not just the owner but also the place where it is fed. In many instances, stray dogs are fed in front of a house or at street corners. The protective nature triggers the dogs when people walk through that space. When it is a pack of dogs being fed, the problem becomes even more acute in an area. Unfortunately the dog caretakers do not keep the strays on their premises but only feed them, said the Department source. The female dogs, which have pups, are also more aggressive, which is the natural response to protect puppies.
The dogs normally becomes more alert and increasingly ferocious in the night hours. Every small noise during the night makes them alert and a pack of dogs does not let people walk into a street they identify as its territory. The dogs’ sense of sound is at least ten times more than that of human beings, say experts.
Another common scene is dogs chasing the bikers. There are two reasons for this scenario. The dogs which do that often have a previous experience of bikes or other vehicles hitting them. Every time when bikes arrive, these canines feel threatened. The noise of bikes coupled with previous experience makes them ferocious, say experts.
What are the ABC rules for feeding dogs?
The BBMP’s failure to implement ABC rules is a key reason for the dog menace. The ABC rules clearly bar caretakers/citizens from feeding the strays in areas that are frequented by senior citizens and children. Most of the residential areas have the population of between these age groups. The ABC rules also mandate finding a designated space to feed stray dogs keeping in my dogs’ territories in mind.
However, dogs in the city are fed everywhere. For instance, if there are 12 dogs in a street divided into three packs, the caretaker feeds each pack in different areas. Instead he should find one dedicated place for all the dogs as they belong to one street and co-exist, say officials in BBMP.
The caretakers, besides making the dogs aggressive, are also littering and spoiling the hygiene in the area. This is a common scene in streets where there are hotels or other eateries, say officials.
What does the BBMP now plan to do to mitigate the problem?
The BBMP which now aims to strictly implement ABC rules will also introduce inserting microchips or geotagging to maintain vaccine data. The BBMP will be soon calling tender to procure five-in-one vaccine known as DHPPI which protects the dogs from Canine Distemper Virus, two types of Adenovirus (Hepatitis and Kennel Cough) Parainfluenza, and Parvovirus. The five-in-one vaccine will be administered to all the stray dogs in the city. This, apart from administering Rabies vaccine.
Once the microchip/geotagging is done the dog will enter the data base and the BBMP will have the status of vaccination. Currently, BBMP has no clue as to which dog is vaccinated. A dog which will be captured for vaccination will be inserted with chip which will contain details of vaccination, date and place of vaccination. This is being done both in the interest of dogs and citizens, says the BBMP.
