Civic body to rope in pvt firms to sterilise stray dogs

For the first time, the civic body has decided to invite tenders from private firms to catch dogs and sterilise them apart from launching a dog census in the city.

While there has been an increase in the number of persons bitten by stray dogs, the good news on the occasion of Anti-rabies Day (September 28) is that the city has registered nil deaths due to rabies, said Pune Municipal Corporation’s animal welfare department.

In 2009, 10,539 people had visited the municipal corporation’s dispensaries to avail of Rabipur/verorap intra-muscular injections after being bitten by stray dogs, Jagtap said, adding that there has been a decrease in the number of people dying due to rabies.

In 1997, there were 56 deaths while a decade later only one death was reported in 2007 and 2008. Last year, there was no death due to rabies, he said. He said the reason behind the rise in number of people with dog bites reported last year is the availability of intra-muscular injections at corporation dispensaries and hospitals. So far, it was available only in the private sector at a high cost. Every year nearly 4,000-5,000 dogs are sterilised,” said Jagtap, who admits that a shoe string staff and few dog squads at the PMC are unable to meet the problem of stray dogs. We have therefore invited tenders from private parties to catch the stray dogs and take them to the dog pound for sterilisation. 

The privatisation project is estimated at Rs 50 lakh, said Dr Dilip Jagtap, acting chief medical officer at Municipal PMC. They will invite tenders from private firms interested in the project.

The PMC in association with the Blue Cross Society sterilised 3,000 dogs in 2009 with the new catch neutre vaccinate and release method. Anjali Paranjape, spokesperson of Blue Cross Society, said the method is more humane and an efficient surgical technique ensures dogs are released the same day.