Three New Animal Birth Control Centres Has Been Opened In Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore
Update: 2022-08-04 10:30 IST
Farmers tethered cattle by the road as floodwaters entered their village. (Photo| EPS)
To reduce the problem of stray dogs in the city, the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) has opened three new Animal Birth Control (ABC) facilities. Following the hospitalisation of about nine children and two adults from stray dog bites recently, the public was outraged at the civic organization's lax approach to sterilising stray animals.
There are currently two ABC centres in the city, one each at Seeranaikenpalayam and Ondipudur. Although the facilities are capable of sterilising 30 canines each day, a shortage of resources and staff made the process difficult.
In light of this, CCMC Commissioner M. Prathap said that three additional centres would shortly open in the North, South, and Central Zones. Prathap stated that psychologically, dogs are territorial animals, so moving where they live would only make them more aggressive. So the only option is to mass sterilise animals and stop stray animals from reproducing.
As a result, special camps will be held frequently to reduce the threat posed by stray dogs. Additionally, 3 additional ABC centres will be established in the final 3 zones. In order to lessen the strain, the Commissioner noted that a previous GO would shortly be implemented in Coimbatore but has not yet been done so. According to the GO, the cost to sterilise a dog will rise from Rs. 435 to Rs. 700.
The health committee's chair, P. Mariselvan, emphasised how the ABC centres are having trouble covering the cost of feeding and treating the sterilised dogs. He also made a point to mention how the number of stray cows is also steadily increasing in the streets, posing a problem for drivers and the general public, and he urged the authorities to capture and treat dogs humanely.
The corporation has currently asked a few welfare organisations for assistance. Furthermore, the municipal organisation began a special canine sterilisation camp on July 29 that will run through August 4 this week in various regions of the city. The Commissioner announced that in the following days, special camps will be held three times a week to reduce the number of stray dogs.