Mumbai, Oct 29 (IANS): Like in many parts of India, stray dogs seem to rule the roost in Mumbai and other major cities of Maharashtra with the resultant human-canine conflicts that lead to veritable dogfights between activists and the authorities.

On the one hand, the activists comprising NGOs and the legion of individual dog lovers or feeders point fingers at the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), while the civic body shrugs and declares that it is doing the best possible to control the stray dog population.

BMC’s Chief of Veterinary Health Dr Kalimpasha Pathan said that currently, the stray dog population in Mumbai is estimated at around 160,000, up from some 95,000 as per the last detailed survey done in 2014, with the maximum stray canines ‘resident’ in the eastern and western suburbs of the city.

“Previously, the city used to report over 80,000 dog bites annually, which has now reduced to around 55,000 per annum, or averaging to around 150 cases daily, but none are fatal,” Pathan told IANS.

Simultaneously, the civic body is going in for a major anti-rabies vaccine campaign, and administered doses to over 15,000 strays in September 2023, and hopes to cover another 100,000 street dogs in the coming weeks, he added.

Activists, dog lovers and stray-feeders are not convinced by the BMC’s claims or efforts, and say much more needs to be done as per the laws to control the street dogs’ population.

A lawyer-activist from Andheri Gurumurthy V. Iyer said that in 1998, the Bombay High Court had given a five year ultimatum to the BMC to control the stray dogs’ numbers and framed guidelines as per the World Society for Protection of Animals. Later, in 2001 came the Centre’ rules on animal birth control.

To achieve this, the BMC roped in several NGOs and started a campaign to sterilize stray dogs, but it floundered for various reasons, even as the Supreme Court in 2015 said that rules must be strictly followed on this count.

“Unfortunately, till today, the rules are not being adhered to fully, there are no sterilization centres in many cities, towns or villages, sanctioned budgets are not utilized and often they lapse or are returned unused, and hence the stray dog population remains uncontrolled,” rued Iyer.

A passionate dog lover and feeder from Versova, Zahra Ruhani said that in the past 15 years she volunteered with a Bandra-based NGO Save Our Strays run by Shirley Menon and others like Rinky Karmarkar, which is active in the western suburbs.

“We get no help from the BMC, we have independently sterilized thousands of strays in just one locality. We needed space to start a sterilization centre, but the BMC didn’t cooperate and we encountered all kinds of hurdles… This is the same story for many NGOs in Mumbai and other parts of the country,” lamented Ruhani.

Another canine lover Ramya Krishnamurthi-Iyer from Khar said people face huge resentment from the housing complexes, the neighbourhood residents and even pedestrians when they feed the strays daily.

“Luckily, I have not encountered all this, but many people torture the stray dogs, pull their tails, kick them and provoke them, leading to dog bites, especially youngsters… and then the poor dogs are hounded for no fault of theirs,” said Krishnamurthi-Iyer.

Advocate Iyer said that when the BMC sought culling options the courts refused it and had emphasized on the globally recognized ‘five fundamental principles for animal welfare’, including dogs.

They are: “Freedom” from hunger, thirst, malnutrition; fear and distress; physical and thermal discomfort; pain, injury and disease; and finally, to express normal patterns of behaviour.

“We must all work unitedly, including the authorities, to ensure that these mute animals also feel cared for, safe, healthy and can lead a normal life just like the humans…” urged Iyer.

The BMC said it has sterilized over 350,000 dogs in the past over two decades, and presently an average of one out of every three stray dogs is sterilized in the city, though questions are raised on the lack of adequate dog vans, trained staff and commitment to their task.

However, activists like Ruhani feel “this is grossly inadequate” and the civic bodies in all cities including Mumbai, must start more sterilization centres to ensure that nobody is at risk from the stray dogs who also have a right to life – “just like you & me”.