Shimla MC looks to check stray dogs in city

SHIMLA: Himachal Pradesh high court had directed Shimla municipal corporation in March to tackle the growing number of stray dogs in the city. Acting on those orders, Shimla MC has now set a target of sterilization of 100 dogs a month, said municipal commissioner Amarjeet Singh.
He said that the sterilization programme, which started in October 2006, had to be shelved after 2011 due to lack of funds.Total 5,724 dogs were sterilized till March 2011. According to MC, the stray dog count, which was estimated between 2,500 and 3,000, has gone up considerably.
"We are trying to increase manpower and other infrastructure to speed up the process. Under the prevention of cruelty to Animals Act, dogs cannot be culled so sterilization is the only alternative," said municipal commissioner Amarjeet. Shimla residents rue that the hill city attracts tourists from all over the world, but the increasing number of stray dogs at the tourist hotspots like the Mall, Ridge and in alleys puts off visitors. There have been many cases of dog bites, but the civic body has not been able to curtail their population.
"Number of stray dogs in the city and nearby rural areas is huge. They cannot be contained in a dog pound which had been constructed earlier with a capacity of 500 canines," said the municipal commissioner.