The civic standing committee on Wednesday was shocked to learn about the methods adopted in the dog sterilisation programme by the BMC. Raising the issue in the civic standing committee, Shiv Sena corporator and former mayor Shubha Raul said, “It has been found that inhuman and cruel methods are being adopted in the BMC’s dog sterilisation programme. Instead of carrying out vasectomy, NGOs have been removing testicles and uteruses of male and female dogs respectively in the sterilisation programme.” Vasectomy needs expertise and it costs more. Instead, directly removing testicles and uterus is proving to be convenient for these NGOs, which call themselves animal lovers. The civic body should stop such cruel methods, she added. The BMC, as per the Bombay high court directives and provisions of the Centre’s Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules 2001, has undertaken the sterilisation programme, with the help of NGOs, to control the stray dog population in the city. The BMC has appointed nine NGOs in seven civic administrative zones to sterilise dogs. According to the civic figures, so far six lakh dogs have been sterilised in the city. “These NGOs have been assigned prime plots in the city for their sterilisation drive. However, hardly three-four of them are working properly. The BMC should take back these plots from these NGOs and instead ask them to set up a dog shelter at Wada and Palghar, where the state government has allotted a plot of 48 acres to the BMC for the same purpose,” Ms Raul said. “We will seek a detailed report about the type of methods being used by the NGOs for the dog sterilisation drive,” said additional municipal commissioner Mohan Adtani.
