Bengaluru, May 15 (IANS): In a shocking incident, a destitute woman was mauled to death by a pack of stray dogs here, the police said on Saturday.

According to the Rajarajeshwari Nagar police officials, the woman, 60, is yet to be identified but preliminary investigations revealed that she was homeless and used to sleep and take shelter on the streets of the metropolis.

The police said that the elderly detitute was first chased by a large pack of stray dogs at around 9:30 pm on Friday. At that time, some onlookers came to her rescue and chased away the strays, but the same pack appeared to have attacked her around midnight.

As the woman was too frail to escape her life, she was mauled to death by these dogs.

The police added that many stray dog incidents do not get reported.

According to the 2012 census of livestock states, there are 1.83 lakh strays and 1.43 lakh pet dogs, a total of 3.27 lakh dogs in Bengaluru.

Animal welfare activists said that the reason for the increase in the number of stray dogs is the 'failure of implementing animal birth control (ABC) programme' by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).

Besides, abandonment of pet dogs is also another major issue. Many do not realise the responsibility of having a pet and hence, they abandon the dogs in between two days and one week, the activists added.

"As several people live with their parents or grandparents, and they do not approve of getting the pet neutered. Once the dog gives birth, they find it difficult to take care of five-six puppies and abandon them," an animal husbandry department official noted.

Meanwhile, the BBMP official also stated that apartment associations' refusal to permit residents from keeping dogs at home despite the High Court allowing pets to be kept at home forces many people to abandon their pets.