BATHINDA
To eradicate the street dog menace in the city, Bathinda municipal corporation is all set to start Punjab’s first-of-its-kind animal birth control centre where nearly 150 canines can be kept for post-sterilisation care.
Built at a cost of ₹43 lakh near the Meritorious School on Badal road, the new facility has been constructed after getting mandatory approval from the Animal Welfare Board of India.
The spacious animal treatment facility has been constructed to meet the animal birth control rules, framed by the central government last year for strict adherence to the guidelines in this regard and greater transparency in animal birth control measures.
According to the MC, Bathinda records an average of 17 dog bite cases daily. Because of the growing stray dog population, it was imminent to conduct sterilisation of canines in an organised manner.
Earlier, the programme was run from a temporary shelter at the district animal husbandry near the ITI chowk which was found insufficient.
According to Sandeep Kataria, Bathinda’s chief sanitary inspector and nodal officer for the project, equipped with two operating theatres (OTs), the new centre is expected to get functional from next week.
{{/usCountry}}According to Sandeep Kataria, Bathinda’s chief sanitary inspector and nodal officer for the project, equipped with two operating theatres (OTs), the new centre is expected to get functional from next week.
{{/usCountry}}An NGO ‘The Care of Animals and Society’ based in Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa has been roped in for the drive.
“The facility has 48 cages to accommodate three canines each where male and female dogs will be brought for birth control measures. A team of dog catchers and veterinarians are geared up to start working,” said Kataria.
He said that the NGO, which was awarded a contract after competitive bidding, will conduct the latest survey to audit the number of unsterilised street dogs. “After sterilisation, dogs will remain there under medical observation for up to a week after which they will be released from the same site they will be picked up. As per the protocol, a small V-shaped cut is made in the dog’s ear before it is released back on the streets,” added Kataria.
As per a field study conducted by the MC last year, an estimated population of community dogs was 8,850 out of which 6,825 require sterlisation.