Activists staged a protest in front of the BBMP office on Wednesday alleging that Animal Birth Control centres (ABCs) are subjecting dogs to cruelty in the name of sterilisation. The protest was held after a team of five volunteers spent several months observing and recording videos of how how these centres are run.
They were shocked to see the amount of violence that animals had to endure in the name of sterilisation, they said.
Nevina Kamath, one of the volunteers who is also an animal cruelty inspector certified by the BBMP, said, “One of the places I visited was the ABC centre in Mahadevapura zone. Lactating mothers are taken for three to four days for surgery. No one knows where the pups are. The newborns will die a horrible death. Even if the mother comes back, she will not have any milk because of the surgical stress,” alleged Ms. Kamath, adding that the team also found that the kennels were filthy with faeces and urine all over.
Geetha Misra, another volunteer in the team, pointed out that often no one made note of the locality from where the dogs were being picked up. “They are either left in a different area or in the forest. If they are left in the forest, they are attacked by other animals,” said Ms. Mistra, adding that they found that these centres were submitting inflated bills to the BBMP. “In one case, the centre claimed to have operated upon 17,500 dogs in a month, but in reality, had conducted barely five surgeries. They are paid ₹1,000 per dog,” she said.
Concerned citizens want the BBMP to constitute a monitoring committee involving civic officials and volunteers. The activists had filed five FIRs between February and July against various animal shelters alleging cruelty against animals.
BBMP Commissioner Manjunath Prasad said the civic body is open to constituting a monitoring committee.
