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Civic bodies to have shelter homes for dogs

Photo: T. Singaravelou

FIGHTING A MENACE: Members of the SPCA transporting dogs for sterlisation at Lawspet in Puducherry. —

PUDUCHERRY: Stray dog menace in Puducherry and its suburbs is likely to come down very shortly.

Following popular demand for steps to address the menace, the department has directed the municipalities, commune and village panchayats to identify space in their locality to conduct sterilisation as per the Animal Birth Control Programme. They have also been asked to identify land for putting up permanent shelter homes for dogs after the surgery.

“The local bodies have been asked to complete the process by December 20 so that we can start the mass sterilisation by the beginning of next year,” E. Vallavan, department director, said.

For carrying out the programme, the Commissioners of the municipalities and respective officers of commune and village panchayats have been asked to contact neighbouring districts of Tamil Nadu and if necessary other State governments to get the services of dog catchers, he said.

The local bodies have also been given the powers to appoint veterinary doctors on “piece rate basis” to perform surgeries. As per the plan, the local bodies would sterilise the dogs which are friendly and healthy while “humanely putting to death the terminally sick animals.”

The department plans to seek funds from the Animal Welfare Board of India to give financial aid to the civic bodies to maintain the shelter homes. The Pondicherry and Oulgaret Municipalities have identified the land required and the work for the shelter homes would start shortly, Mr. Vallavan said.

The organisations working towards the welfare of animals too have stepped in to control the population of stray dogs. The Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in Puducherry has conducted as many as 400 sterilisations in the recent times. After the surgery, the dogs are given anti-rabies vaccine before being dropped at the place from they were caught, M. K. Sayeekumari, president of SPCA, said.

The SPCA has sought allocation of land to construct a permanent shelter home as it was becoming difficult to let the dogs free owing to opposition from the public.

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