PUNE: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has assigned two more agencies to increase the numbers of stray dog sterilisations in the city. The PMC has set a target of 1,000 sterilisations per day for each agency.
According to the PMC Health Department, the stray dog population has reached 2.5 lakh after the merger of 11 villages with the PMC limits.
To control this increasing population, the PMC has hired two agencies: Universal Animal Welfare Board (Beed) and Jenice Welfare Animal Trust (Panchgani).
At present, The Animal Rights Fund covers the Kothrud area, with a sterilisation centre inside the Kothrud depot. The Animal Protection Club has a sterilisation centre at Malwadi, Hadapsar, while the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is sterilising dogs at the PMC dog pound near the Naidu Hospital. Now, the PMC has allocated Rs 4 crore for modernisation of the dog pound to increase its capacity to 350 stray dogs for sterilisation.
Dr PN Wagh, Veterinary Superintendent of PMC said, “At present, two agencies are sterilising 2,000 dogs per month. Now, two more agencies will help to increase the rate of sterilisation. To the existing agencies, the PMC is providing infrastructure to sterilise stray dogs. The new agencies will have to set up their infrastructure and PMC will pay Rs 1,600 per sterilisation. PMC has set a target to each agency to sterilise a minimum of 1,000 stray dogs per month.”
Under the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Act, 2001, the PMC catches dogs, sterilises, immunises and releases them in the same area. The stray dog control unit is running under the Health Department of the PMC. Complaints of stray dog nuisance are resolved by the four zonal medical officers. The department is decentralised and is run by a Zonal Medical Officer and Division Sanitary Inspector.
