MYSORE: The Mysore City Corporation (MCC) appears to be having its hands full with the task of trapping not only street dogs but also stray pigs and monkeys that are creating a nuisance for the people.

Barely a few weeks after launching a drive to catch stray dogs after a rise in cases of dog bites in a few localities, stray pigs and monkeys had become a menace, forcing the civic body to stretch its limited resources and deploy personnel to catch these animals as well. In the first week of June, MCC personnel, assisted by expert animal-catchers, were found pursuing street dogs, stray pigs and monkeys in various lanes and by-lanes of the City and trapping them.

"So far we have trapped about 6,000 dogs, 514 pigs and 25 monkeys from different parts of the city," MCC's Health Officer Nagaraj told The Hindu . Though the operation to trap monkeys has been suspended for the present as the monkey-catchers have taken a few days' leave, the drive against stray dogs and pigs has been continuing relentlessly.

The animal-catching spree began in March this year after five children who were playing in a lane in Sunnadakeri in Mysore were bitten by a pack of street dogs. A few weeks later, street dogs bit seven persons in Ghousianagar, forcing the authorities to intensify the dog-catching campaign.

While diseased and rabid dogs were being put to sleep, the healthy ones were being released into the locality after sterilisation at the Government Veterinary Hospital here.

Even as the authorities were grappling with the street dogs, the stray pig menace raised its head when a five-year-old boy was mauled in Kesare here.

The authorities immediately invited a 30-member team of expert pig-catchers from Madurai to trap the animals roaming in the residential localities of Mysore. Amid protests from pig-rearers, the expert catchers went around Mysore city using lassos and nets to trap the pigs.

The city corporation, however, has not publicly disclosed how and where the trapped pigs will be let go.

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