BENGALURU: As per the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) street dog census report, the population of strays in Bengaluru has declined by 29,645, since the 2019 census.
According to BBMP, there are 2,79,355 street dogs in all eight zones of BBMP limits -- East, West, South, Mahadevpura, Dasarahalli, Bommanahalli, RR Nagar and Yelahanka. Animal husbandry department sources say the core area of East Zone has around 48,000 stray dogs, which is the highest, followed by West Zone with around 45,000 dogs, and South Zone with approximately 30,000 stray dogs.
“Mahadevapura has around 35,000 stray dogs, Bommanahalli 30,000, RR Nagar 27,000, while Dasarahalli and Yelahanka have 20,000 stray dogs each. The outer areas remain a concern as there is no place for Animal Birth Control (ABC) in Mahadevapura and Bommanahalli zones. There is a big challenge in the suburban areas of the city as they are new and big, and if measures like ABC are not taken up, the stray dog population might go up in a few years,” the official said.
Staffers from BBMP and animal husbandry department used drones around lakes to photograph stray dogs. The census was carried out by 50 teams comprising two members each. Each team covered an area of 5km radius, clicked and uploaded photos of stray dogs with details of the street and spot in the in-house portal. To make sure there was no repetition, the team checked the spot after six days of the inspection.