Delhi’s dog centres ill-equipped to handle large influx

Those running ABC centres said that the rate of ₹1,000 per dog to has not been revised for 10-15 years, and that it needs to be doubled to cover the costs

New Delhi

The Supreme Court on Friday ordering the removal of stray dogs from educational institutions, hospitals, sports complexes, bus depots and railway stations—ruling that they cannot be released back after sterilisation. (HT Archive)

Against the backdrop of the Supreme Court on Friday ordering the removal of stray dogs from educational institutions, hospitals, sports complexes, bus depots and railway stations—ruling that they cannot be released back after sterilisation—animal birth control (ABC) centres in the city said they are not equipped to handle a large influx of dogs.

During a spot check by HT on Saturday, most centres said the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has not paid the charge of ₹1,000 per dog for the ABC process. They said that even before the order, they were often forced to pause intakes due to a shortage of space, medicine, and facilities.

“We simply do not have the facilities to manage a larger influx of dogs. We can handle 8-10 a day, the average number of dogs the MCD brings daily. However, we have to stop intake every six days, and can only resume after dogs previously brought in are released. We also run our own shelter, so we need the space for those dogs as well,” said a worker at the Pet Animal Welfare Society ABC centre in Masoodpur.

The owner of the centre, RT Sharma, said that the MCD had not paid them for over a year.

An official from the MCD’s veterinary department said that they have not been able to pay the ABC centres as the standing committee was yet to pass a proposal in this regard.

“The expected budget for the ABC centres for this financial year is ₹13.5 crore, but we need the standing committee to sanction the same to us first. The proposal for it has been stuck in the committee, and thus, the centres have not been paid since March,” the official said, requesting anonymity.

To be sure, there are 20 authorised ABC centres in Delhi. While some are run entirely by the MCD, the rest are run by private non-governmental organisations and trusts. The MCD partners with centres run by trusts for ABC operations, and is supposed to pay them for the same. Many of the centres carry out their own operations, and take in the dogs that MCD brings in for sterilisation, charging ₹1,000 per dog. The cost of housing, feeding, and medical treatment, if any, is borne by the centres.

Neighbourhood Woof, an ABC centre in Timarpur, is faced with a space shortage.

“There is not enough land, not enough food, not enough medicines, and not enough money to pick up all dogs from all the places specified by the court, and keep them in a shelter. Our maximum capacity is only 90-120 dogs, after which we cannot take in more dogs,” said Ayesha Christina Benn, CEO and managing trustee of Neighbourhood Woof. “If the city has the resources for this plan, why aren’t funds being cleared? We have still not been paid by the MCD for our ABC work from the middle of May to the end of September,” she added.

Even larger centres, such as the Krishna Ashram in Satbari, which has a capacity of 500 dogs, said they will not be able to accommodate the large influx that may follow the top court order.

A doctor, requesting anonymity, at the Krishna Ashram ABC centre said, “We already carry out our daily operations at close to full capacity. The dogs are divided into zones, in sets of 20-30, on the basis of their temperament, so as to make sure they do not fight.”

“Even if we had the space for them, a large number of new dogs coming in at the same time would cause aggression and fighting. We can only take in a large number of dogs if the MCD gives us additional space. Even then, we would have to hire new workers, and get more food, which the MCD does not pay for,” the doctor said.

The doctor said that the rate of ₹1,000 per dog has not been revised for 10-15 years, and that it needs to be doubled to cover the costs.

Benn said that sheltering a large number of dogs at ABC centres would also immensely slow down the ABC process. “As opposed to spending that money on immunising dogs, getting our surveillance right, this order is about doing it in a short period of time, instead of even beginning to phase it out.”