Pet peeves: Noida now told to set up animal birth control panels

NOIDA: The district administration has ordered the implementation of the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, which came into effect in March this year. These rules aim to reduce man-animal conflict by detailing measures to be taken for pet dogs as well as stray animals.
Additional district magistrate Nitin Madan held a meeting with officials of the Noida Authority, the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) and the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) on Wednesday regarding the implementation of rules.
The ABC Rules also lay responsibility for the vaccination and sterilisation of pet dogs and stray dogs. In cases of pet animals, the owner of the animal shall be responsible for the deworming, immunisation and sterilisation, while in cases of street animals, the local authority shall be responsible for this. The authority may engage an animal welfare organisation to carry out the animal birth control programme in accordance with these rules.
Madan said the implementation of these rules will ensure there is no confrontation between animal lovers and others, as seen in the past few months in Noida societies.
The district administration also asked the authorities to form monitoring committees for the effective implementation of ABC programmes in accordance with these rules to control the population of street animals, eradicate rabies and reduce man-animal conflict.
"The ABC monitoring committee shall be constituted by the local authority. They will meet at least once a month to assess the progress regarding the implementation of the ABC programme. Local authorities, in consultation with the monitoring committees, may decide to control the excess population of street dogs through animal birth control programme in a specific area or region. The authority shall set up an animal complaint cell to receive information or complaints about dog bites from street dogs suspected to be suffering from rabies," the ABC Rules state.
The local authority would also set up an ABC centre and ensure kennel and veterinary hospital facilities and requisite number of vans with the necessary modifications for safe handling and transportation of dogs.