Stray dog menace: Culling will not eliminate more strays, assert experts

Thiruvananthapuram: The Pulluvila incident has got many baying for the blood of street dogs. However, veterinarians and animal welfare activists think that culling of street dogs is not a solution. It can only worsen the situation, they say.

Director of Animal Husbandry Department Dr N. N. Sasi says, “People have been killing, but why are the dogs still around? Suppose we kill ten dogs in an area. Dogs from other areas will replace them. It is not possible to eliminate the species.” He quotes an AWBI statistics according to which one pair of unaltered dogs, in six years, can produce 67,000 dogs, he says.

Animal birth control (ABC) programme implemented in a systematic fashion is the solution, the experts say. But it is in the implementation that there is a problem, according to Gauri Maulekhi, member, Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI).

“It is a shame that the government of Kerala is still not initiating ABC programme. It is frustrating to deal with Kerala because Kerala is not implementing anything SC has said,” she says.

Most ABC centres do not follow the protocols, she accuses. “The doctors won’t be trained. The dogs won’t be provided sufficient postoperative care,” she says.

The only Corporation which is implementing ABC well is Kochi with two trained doctors, a well-equipped operation theatre and good kennels, she says.
When asked about the training AWBI had provided to perform keyhole ABC surgeries, she talks about the poor infrastructure.

“Doctors can’t do surgeries in garages. They require operation theatres and kennels to rehabilitate the dogs. The dogs cannot even turn around in the wired little cages that Animal Husbandry provides. It is an invasive surgery, and the dog is prone to contracting infections,” she says.

A veterinarian in the department shares that ABC alone will not help. “There should be a proper waste management system. A proper plan regarding the percentage of dogs which need to undergo the surgery and timelines need to be prepared. Female dogs need to be monitored at least for five days as it is an invasive surgery. Even keyhole surgeries are important,” the doctor says.