CHENNAI: The plan to house stray dogs permanently in shelters seems impractical even with the number of dogs estimated in 2019 livestock survey. As per the survey, Tamil Nadu has 4.41 lakh stray dogs. If the state decides to build a shelter to house 200 dogs each, they would need 2,200 shelters.
As per the Animal Welfare Board of India guidelines on animal birth control, the recommended size for kennels is 12 sq ft per dog. To accommodate kennels alone for the 4.41 lakh strays, the state would need 122 acres of land.
For long-term shelters - with considerable yard space to prevent aggression, disease spread, and infighting among dogs — at least 2,000 acres would be needed, according to the experts TNIE spoke to. In Chennai alone, housing its 1.8 lakh stray dogs would mean setting aside about 900 acres.
The staffing requirement is equally daunting. At least 15,000 staff, including veterinarians, would be needed to care for the animals. According to a senior government official with expertise on the subject, this was not a viable solution.
“Local bodies should be authorised to assess dogs with behavioural issues and decide the best course of action. Local body authorities are often caught in the middle of animal lovers and those with an unreasonable hate towards them,” the official said.
With ABCs failing to bring the stray population under control, the Chennai corporation had, a few years ago, discussed injectable sterilisation. The procedure is cheaper and quicker than surgery, requiring no post-operative care, and involves injecting compounds to prevent reproduction.
However, the Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023, recognise only surgical sterilisation as a permanent population control method. This coupled with lack of adequate research on this method, led the civic body to drop the idea.