CHENNAI: Corporation of Chennai staff have removed 525 dogs from various government hospitals in the city with the help of volunteers of NGOs working in animal welfare. The animals will later be released to their old territories after sterilization.The drive comes after the body of a 12-day-old infant was eaten by rodents at the government Kasturba Gandhi Hospital for Women and Children in Triplicane.During the drive, launched with the help of volunteers from the Blue Cross, Society for the Prevention of Cruelty against Animals and the People for Animals, 16 cats and 3,048 rats have also been caught.Corporation commissioner D Karthikeyan said, "We have been engaged in catching dogs, especially from hospitals. But the main challenge is to leave them in the same locality after sterilization.

 

They will not be left on hospital premises. The Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme will be implemented across the city." Animal lovers said the dogs should be released in the same place.Blue Cross Society general manager Don Williams said, "According to ABC rules, after sterilizing dogs we have to leave them at the place from where we picked them up. Otherwise, dogs from other territories could come there in search of food. This could pose a big threat to local residents.

 

So it is better not to damage the balance of the habitat."The organization said it had been vaccinating dogs since 1964 and the stray dog population has reduced drastically.But some residents are worried. "If the civic body plans to leave these dogs in the same place after the sterilization, what is the point of catching them?" asked a resident of Adyar.Following complaints from residents, the corporation recently decided to permit more NGOs to take part in the ABC programme in the city's extended areas. Experts say that though sterilization is a one-time effort, vaccinations need to be carried out every year. During the first round, dogs are sterilized and given anti-rabies shots.Their ears are notched so that they can be identified for follow-up action.