Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike to hold stray dog census soon

BENGALURU: After a seven-year gap, the city’s civic agency will conduct a census on the stray dog population in Bengaluru. The last census, done in 2012, recorded around 3 lakh stray dogs in the city. Animal rights activists have been pushing for a re-survey for several years, and it is now set to be conducted after the Lok Sabha elections, as the model code of conduct is in place currently. The Animal Husbandry Department of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has only worked on the scope of work as of now.

“The plan is in a preliminary stage right now. The idea is to determine the number of neutered and spayed stray dogs, as well as those that are not operated upon, in all eight zones. The numbers will give the Animal Birth Control (ABC) centres of each zone a target to meet,” said D Randeep, Special Commissioner, BBMP.

“We have not decided if we will call tenders. A few organisations and individuals have approached us showing interest in conducting the survey. We can only recommend them to the state government. The census will have to be done by people who have knowledge in this sector and understand the migratory habits of stray dogs. They will have to have prior expertise,” he added.

BBMP Commissioner Manjunath Prasad said the proposed census can only be taken up after the elections are over.

Harini Raghavan, animal rights activist and founder of Citizens for Animal Birth Control, said, “Animal rights organisations and individuals have been pushing for this for many years. It has been delayed too much. The figures will help us calibrate our targets. Right now, each ABC centre operates 300 to 600 dogs per month. The census will put pressure on them to focus on certain areas where the population is higher.”

Raghavan added that currently, an ad hoc approach is being followed by officials. “Several volunteers have come forward to help BBMP. This is not a commercial activity for us, and there is no expectation of pay. Since 2012, there were two years in between when ABC centres were not functioning due to some issues, so the stray dog population must have increased significantly by now,” Raghavan said.