Refuted: Mumbai's dog-bite claims

New Delhi: NGOs involved in keeping the population of stray dogs in check in Delhi widely refuted the contention of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation in the Supreme Court on Wednesday that dog bites took a bigger toll of lives in Mumbai than terror attacks.
If deaths due to dog bites over a hundred years are considered, they could surpass World War II casualties, countered Geeta Seshamani, vice-president of Frendicoes, the oldest animal shelter in Delhi."If the BMC says 429 died due to dog bites in 20 years, it works out to 21 deaths a year. Put this in the context of the population of Mumbai," she said. "And were the victims admitted in hospitals where anti-rabies serum wasn't available? Did these cases take place in rural areas?"
NGOs involved in sterilising stray dogs in the capital explained that contrary to perceptions, the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme can successfully curb stray population. Major General R M Kharb (retd), chairperson, Animal Welfare Board of India, said ABC was the most scientific method to control stray dog population and had the approval of the World Health Organisation.
Currently there are seven NGOs involved in the implementation of ABC in Delhi. They have tied up with one or more of the five urban local bodies. Kharb said, "If done on intensive scale, ABC can be very effective. In cities such as Jaipur, Chennai and Ooty, the incidence of rabies has gone down drastically due to its strict implementation." Not a single case of rabies has been reported in Chennai since 2007.
He was disappointed, however, that the budgetary support from the ministry of urban development, under whose jurisdiction the control of strays in cities fell, had declined over the years. "While we have been sanctioned Rs 1 crore for ABC in the current financial year, we have seen it decline from Rs 3.99 crore in 2010-11." He said the ministry budgeted at sterilisation rates that are a decade old. What used to cost Rs 450 per dog then now costs Rs 700-800, he said.
Dr Sarungbam Yaiphabi Devi, founder, managing trustee and chief veterinarian of the Animal India Trust, said ABC is most effective when at least 70 per cent of the dog population in a particular area is sterilised over two breeding seasons within a year. The trust has been carrying out the sterilisation programme in collaboration with the East and South Delhi Municipal Corporations. The financial crunch in the civic bodies has led to a setback, however, and Devi claims that EDMC owes the NGO around Rs 30 lakh for sterilizations done over 13 months.
Executives at Krishna Ashram, another NGO involved in the programme, said most street dogs are never found in a condition healthy enough for them to undergo sterilisation. "We first treat them and improve their medical condition before sterilizing them," said a spokesperson for the organisation. It takes around 10 days to improve the dogs' condition through vaccination. Though the municipal corporations had agreed to pay for the programme, Krishna Ashram has been implementing it without financial aid.