Animal welfare activists blame BBMP for dog-bite incidents

Bengaluru: A group of animal activists alleged that the inefficiency of BBMP in stray dog management had led to the recent dog bite incidents in the city, including a pack of stray dogs mauling a 76-year-old woman to death inside the Jalahalli East Air Force Station last week.More than 20 activists gathered at BBMP head office Thursday, staged a symbolic protest, and submitted a proposal to the chief commissioner's office. They demanded proper implementation of the animal birth control (ABC) programme for street dogs. The animal activists alleged that BBMP officials failed to create public awareness about stray dogs, their behaviour, the reasons for their aggression, feeding food, and related issues. "We have been trying for a long time to streamline the official machinery and have a lawful, efficient, scientific, and effective ABC programme. But instead, the officials are only trying to push through money-making projects to fill their and their masters' pockets," they alleged in the memorandum.An activist, Sujaya Jagadish said that BBMP is spending crores on the ABC programme. "If they had conducted ABC programmes effectively, why are there still lakhs of stray dogs in the city?" she asked.‘Strays starving in Jalahalli IAF'The animal welfare activists further stated that a visit to the site of fatal dog bite at Jalahalli Air Force Station revealed that the dogs were not being fed by any humans. Instead, they were scavenging on waste and leftovers dumped in the vicinity. Many were extremely hungry and starving. There was no serious effort for ABC and vaccination in the past few years. There was no effort by BBMP to create awareness of the necessity for feeding, no plan or directive to feed them. BBMP did not inspect or conduct a dog census at this campus, the activists alleged.