Dog centres: Ill-equipped to handle influx

Against the backdrop of the Supreme Court on Friday ordering the removal of stray dogs from educational institutions, hospitals, sports complexes, bus depots and railway stations— ruling that they cannot be released back after sterilisation— animal birth control (ABC) centres said they are not equipped to handle a large influx of dogs.

- Aaditya Khatwani

During a spot check by HT on Saturday, most centres said the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has not paid the charge of ₹1,000 per dog for the ABC process, They said that even before the order, they were often forced to pause intakes due to a shortage of space, medicine, and facilities.

“We simply do not have the facilities to manage a larger influx of dogs. We can handle 8-10 a day, the average number of dogs the MCD brings daily. However, we have to stop intake every six days, and can only resume after dogs previously brought in are released. We also run our own shelter, so we need the space for those dogs as well,” said a worker at the Pet Animal Welfare Society ABC centre in Masoodpur.

The owner of the centre, RT Sharma, said that the MCD had not paid them for over a year.

An official from the MCD’s veterinary department said that they have not been able to pay the ABC centres as the standing committee was yet to pass a proposal in this regard.