The Hindu : New Delhi News : 70 per cent of Delhi’s stray dogs to be sterilised before Games

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70 per cent of Delhi’s stray dogs to be sterilised before Games

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: The Municipal Corporation of Delhi is aiming to sterilise 70 per cent of the stray dogs in the Capital before the Commonwealth Games next year, Delhi Mayor Kanwar Sain said here on Saturday.

First survey

“This is the first time a survey on stray dogs has been conducted in the Capital. Based on the survey it can be said that there are roughly 262,740 dogs in the Capital, give or take 17,230 dogs to factor in the probability,” the Mayor said.

Elaborating on the survey, MCD Additional Commissioner Janak Digal said: “Wildlife SOS, a non-government organisation, conducted the survey which documented the density of dogs per zone. Accordingly we can focus our efforts in the zones where the density of dogs is more and where there has been less sterilisation of dogs. We need to sterilise female dogs in larger numbers in order to control the population of dogs. We are establishing dog centres in the Capital which will provide sterilisation and immunisation to dogs. Ten NGOs are working with MCD for sterilisation of dogs. The cost of sterilisation of each dog is Rs.445.”

Wildlife SOS co-founder Kartik Satyanarayan explained the methodology for the survey: “Since we cannot exactly count the number of dogs, we calculated the density of dogs based in every zone. There are 14 such zones in the Capital. The density of dogs is highest in the City Zone. If there is more population in an area, there will be more dogs owing to increased food generation. As many as 66 per cent of those surveyed said that they fed dogs.”

A necessity

“It is necessary to have dogs in the city as they are an effective pest control measure and help in keeping the number of rats at bay. However, they must be treated for rabies and other diseases so that they do not cause harm to passers-by,” he added.

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