Bhopal: Dog menace: BMC toying with the idea of launching dog shelters

Bhopal: Dog menace has become a cause of concern for denizens as with each passing day the numbers of canines on the city streets are increasing. Death of a 15-month-old boy, who was mauled to death in Gautam Nagar area recently, is one of the many cases of the stray dog nuisance. The rising incidents have exposed the inability of the civic authority to controlling the increasing population of the stray dogs or checking their aggressiveness. Even as BMC is toying with the idea of launching dog shelters along the lines of cow shelters, People For Animals wants the hire ‘canine behaviourists to check aggression among dogs. Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) is running a sterilization campaign to contain their population. However, sterilization of dogs will definitely bring down their number but will not help in reducing their aggressiveness.

Though sterilized, the stray dogs pose a lot of threat to people specially commuters on two-wheelers. These ferocious canines have field day on street attacking, biting and chasing people. A number of people have falling victim to these chasing squads.

People For Animals (PFA), however, have a different take on this issue as they wants “Canine Behaviourists” to be hired to reduce aggression among dogs.

PFA Bhopal unit head Swati Gaurav said that even as sterilization is underway and incidents of dog biting and chasing continues, there need to take a more humane way deal with these stray animals.

“Sometime people kick dogs while riding two wheelers which make them defensive as they feel that the vehicle is approaching them or entering their territory “an area that dogs mark as theirs” they start chasing them,” said Swati.

However, we are in talks with canine behaviourists including Adnan Khan and Shirin Merchant who can train dogs to bring down their aggressiveness. The dogs can be trained for two to three days for it, she added. The animal activist was however against changing the location of dogs as she termed it as against their right. Shifting these dogs can have serious impact on their health as well as is also illegal, said Swati.

However, Mohammad Abdul Shafique, the corporator who had raised the issue in BMC council said wants these dogs to be shifted to some shelter. The animal rights activists who raise concern over the safety and welfare of dogs are failing to sense the sentiments of public who are suffering because of them, said the corporator.

He said that if the menace is not cured, people may take laws into their hands and may start harming dogs. We have proposed a separate shelter for dogs where there will be taken care, he added. Dr Mukesh Sharma, assistant director in veterinary hospital said that civic body is sterilizing the dogs, which is only way to check their population.

He claimed that sterilization reduces aggression among dogs as some hormonal changes take place after they undergo medical procedure. The dogs that have undergone sterilization have shown less aggressiveness, he claimed. Mayor Alok Sharma informed that BMC is in talks with district administration for plots in the city where these stray dogs can be put in future. The dogs will be provided required food and for this the civic body will hire NGOs, he added.