Continued (temporary) removal of stray dogs from Games venues – COUNTER PRODUCTIVE

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Sub:     Continued (temporary) removal of stray dogs from Games venues – COUNTER PRODUCTIVE

I must firstly place on record, my appreciation for the manner in which the M.C.D. staff, under your able stewardship, have, by and large endeavored to temporarily remove stray dogs from Games venues to shelters established by Animal Welfare Organizations. However, the continued removal is in my view, now proving counter-productive.  

Firstly, the shelters to which these dogs have been temporarily removed by the MCD and NDMC, are stretched to capacity – over 500 dogs to the Friendicoes SECA shelters at Ghazipur, Gurgaon, and Defense Colony ; over 70 dogs to Sonadi ; approximately as many dogs to Cure and Care ; and 20 Delhi dogs have also been removed to the SPCA Noida shelter at Sector 94, Noida. These shelters may not be able to accommodate many more dogs ; and in any event, their return back to the locations from which they were picked up is not likely to be an easy task. Delhi will certainly witness some upheaval in this regard in the coming days.

Secondly – and Dr. Alok Aggarwal will confirm as much to you –the vacuum that is being created by the removal of above mentioned stray dogs has now new dogs straying in ! (It is precisely for this reason that removal of dogs is not considered to be a long term solution in managing dog population ; and animal birth control, and returning dogs to the locations that they were picked up from, is advocated as being the only effective method.) It may therefore be prudent for the MCD staff to now focus on shooing off dogs out of the Games venues, rather than removing them, albeit temporarily, to shelters. Needless to state, dislocating them and moving them to other locations is contrary to law, and should not be resorted to.

As such, continued removal is likely to prove more and more counter-productive.

Kindly therefore issue suitable directions as suggested above.

Yours  Sincerely

                                                                                                       (Dr. R.M. Kharb)

                                                                             Maj.Gen.(Retd.), AVSM

                                                                              Chairman

Shri K. S. Mehra, IAS

Commissioner,

Municipal Corporation of Delhi ,

Town Hall Delhi – 110006.

Ph: 011-23961012/23967315,

Fax: 011-23965016 / 23753188.

(cmrmcd@bol.net.in)