BHUBANESWAR: At least 40 canines, rescued by Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) earlier last week from an illegal breeding centre in Laxmisagar during an eviction drive, were returned to the owner hours later as the civic body did not basic infrastructure to accommodate them. Not one dog pound.
The controversy over an American Akita breed dog biting an eight-year-old child has not just thrown questions about the regulation of pets but also about animal care facilities in the city. After Bhubaneswar Development Authority demolished the illegal breeding centre over encroachment of government land, many foreign breeds were rescued by the dog squad of the BMC. The civic body, however, handed over the canines to owner of the illegal breeding centre due to the lack of a shelter home.
The owner regained possession of the dogs despite being found on the wrong side of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and shifted the canines to another place.In the recent years, there has been a sudden burst in population of dogs - pets and strays in the city. However, the incident points at inadequate monitoring mechanism with BMC to regulate illegal practices.Also, the poor infrastructure ensures the handful of private shelter homes are overwhelmed with rescue and treatment calls.
There are half a dozen government veterinary dispensaries. Besides, 10 to 15 private veterinary dispensaries too operate in the city. However, none of the facilities except OUAT are equipped with X-ray machines and pathology laboratories. On many occasions, private shelter homes take the dogs to public hospitals to carry out their X-rays by paying extra money.
“We receive 15 to 30 calls every day to rescue injured stray animals. Of them, 10 to 20 calls are related to street dogs. Due to lack of adequate infrastructure in shelter homes like veterinary doctors, rescuers, medical equipment, only three to four injured canines can be rescued on any given day,” said Speak for Animals founder Kusal Biswas.
Most of the private shelter homes in the Capital City are not equipped to treat the canines affected by contagious diseases - rabies, parvovirus, distemper as these infections can spread among other animals through airborne exposures.
People For Animals founder Jiban Das puts the responsibility on BMC to create infrastructure. “Critical injuries like leg and spinal fractures cannot be treated on the spot and dogs need to be shifted to a shelter home. However, the civic body’s veterinary doctors are not able to shift the injured canines due to absence of required infrastructure,” he said.
In many instances, veterinary doctors leave the injured dogs on the spot after administering injections instead of shifting them to a shelter home, he alleged.There are about four to five shelter homes in the state capital engaged in rescuing injured stray animals, including dogs, and providing them treatment. While there are a few shelter homes in the city which rescue and prove treatment to only cows.
Besides, BMC fails to monitor if existing shelter homes are registered and have adequate infrastructure. There are more than 10 private boarding homes for pets but many of them are not registered either.“We do not have a shelter home for dogs but veterinary doctors attend and treat injured canines when we get calls on animal helpline number,” said BMC Deputy Commissioner (Housing) Ramesh Chandra Jena.