Delhi: MCD hopes to meet target of sterilising 80k dogs by yr end

New Delhi: The Municipal Corporation of Delhi is going to sterilise 80,000 street dogs by year end, officials have said. There is an estimated population of 1,89,285 stray dogs in the four zones of the erstwhile south corporation, according to the last census in 2016. Till September this year, over 13,000 cases of dog bites have been reported in the city.

“I was returning from the gymnasium when a street dog bit me badly, I called up my family for help and went to a hospital to get treatment but this is becoming a huge problem in our area. The corporation should look into this problem,” said Paryant Rastogi, a resident of the Shakarpur area.

There are around 17 dog sterilisation centres, which have a capacity of sterilising about 9,000 dogs per month. According to officials, MCD is going to make more centers functional to achieve the target of sterilising 80% of the stray dog population.

As per the Animal Birth Control (dogs) Rules, 2001, which was amended in 2010, dogs have to be picked up by the local bodies, sterlised, and released in the same area.

Despite making mandatory the registration of pets, there has been a poor response on the part of citizens, according to officials.

“Till December 7 this year, 2,501 pets have been registered with the corporation. We are also prosecuting owners, who do not have pets registered with us based on a complaint from someone. We are also trying to motivate the public by holding special camps and awareness programs” said an MCD official.

“There have been many instances of dog biting on a daily basis,” said another resident.