Community dogs barking and running along vehicles and trying to jump at the riders during night are becoming common in some parts of the expanded areas.
Though all dogs may not bite, they still instil a sense of fear in motorists. Nanganallur resident M. Kannan recalled how he had helped several people who fell off bikes while trying to out-run dogs. “The number of dogs in our area just keeps increasing. The Corporation does not do as many animal birth control operations (ABC) as it should,” he said.
Thoraipakkam Anand Nagar resident Francis said his area had many community dogs and they run behind even pedestrians going on walks in the evenings. “We don’t know how each one will react. I have been thinking of carrying a stick on my walks,” he said.
At Vanagaram, residents said that dogs scratched cars and bit and tore vehicle covers at nights. “We have complained to the Thiruverkadu Municipality but they have not taken any steps so far. We continue to be chased at night when dogs also fight as packs,” said Alexander, a resident.
Sources in the civic body said they had intensified measures to promote animal birth control among 58,000 stray dogs, rectifying flaws identified by the ABC monitoring committee, which was constituted a few months ago.
“After COVID-19, we received a few calls from residents about the spread of the virus in animals. We have asked residents not to worry. Available evidence suggests that the virus has been predominantly transmitted only from humans,” said an official of Chennai Corporation.
After the relaxation of COVID-19 norms, many residents have stressed the need for initiatives to control stray dogs and cattle.
Over 60% complaints from residents are about stray dogs that have already been subjected to ABC surgery. As the rules do not permit catching of dogs that are already sterilised, the dogs receive anti-rabies vaccine before they are released in the same locality. As a result, many residents have started complaining frequently about dog menace.
“We are explaining to residents rules of ABC. We cannot remove the dogs from the locality. We are the first city to give anti-rabies vaccine for all community dogs. We have increased the number of dog catchers from two to five in each of the 15 zones. We have given butterfly nets instead of ropes to catch dogs. The surgeons’ payment has been increased from ₹100 to ₹300 for female dogs and ₹200 for male dogs," said an official.
