Thiruvananthapuram Corporation will soon enter into an agreement with a non-governmental organisation to carry out the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme on stray dogs.
The civic body is in the final stage of negotiations with Human Society International (HSI), an animal rights organisation, to carry out a survey of street dogs in the city and to implement the ABC programme, chairperson of standing committee for Health S. Pushpalatha said.
“HSI has set four conditions and we agreed to three. A sum of Rs.3.82 lakh will be handed over for the initial survey and allied activities. The veterinary centre in Pettah has to be repaired for them to carry out the programme. This will be done by August. They wanted Rs.200 more for sterilising a dog, which we did not agree to. HSI will forward a draft MoU in 2 days,” she said.
In Mumbai Denying any hitch in talks with the organisation, she said the civic body was in the process of finalising the terms with the NGO. The organisation was involved in the survey and sterilisation of dogs in other parts of the country, including Mumbai, she added
Director, Asia, HSI, Rahul Sehgal told The Hindu that after the agreement was signed, a survey would be launched in the city to identify areas where street dog population was more. The census would be carried out using Global Positioning System and other relevant technologies.
The survey would also focus on computing the number of dogs already sterilised, he said.
“A team from the organisation will visit the city in a few days. The survey will be conducted next month and by September the ABC programme will commence,” Mr. Sehgal said. The HSI had already started the process to recruit the required staff, including veterinarians, support staff and dog-catchers, for the survey and sterilisation of dogs, he added.
The Corporation and the Animal Welfare Board of India would split the amount (Rs.445 a dog) to be given to the organisation as fee for sterilisation and post-sterilisation care, said a senior Corporation official.
