THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A survey by the city corporation has revealed that the stray dog population has declined in the capital. The civic body conducted the survey with the help of an NGO recently to find out the stray dog population to devise strategies to effectively implement the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme.
As per the current survey, there are around 8,679 free-roaming dogs in the corporation limits. The survey has also revealed that around 42 per cent of the stray dog population is sterilised.
A senior civic body official told TNIE that the implementation of the ABC programme has proved effective and is the reason for the decline in the number of strays on the streets. As per the survey conducted in 2016, there were around 20,000 stray dogs. However, there were widespread complaints regarding the credibility of the survey as there were allegations that the survey didn’t cover every ward.
“Though the numbers were low we carried out sterilisation almost regularly and this has brought us the results. The coverage of the sterilised dog population has increased in the past few years resulting in the decline of the dog population,” said the official.
The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) has amended and notified ABC Rules 2023 under the Prevention of Cruelty Against Animal Act 2001 recently making the rules and guidelines more stringent.
The animal husbandry department has issued an order directing the local bodies to immediately implement the new ABC norms and ensure strict compliance.
Even after two years, the city corporation has failed to renovate and reopen the ABC centre at Vandithadam in Thiruvallam which was shut down following direction from the High Court owing to poor facilities.
“The project to set up a new ABC centre at Thiruvallam will take another year to be completed. The new facility will have all specifications mandated by the new ABC Rules. We will reopen the renovated ABC Centre at Vandithadam by next week. Only experienced veterinary surgeon who has performed a minimum of 2,500 surgeries can be deployed for carrying out sterilisation. Installation of CCTVs is another rule that has been made mandatory,” said the official.