BBMP set to start its street dog census by June end

After a four-year gap, BBMP is set to start its street dog census by June end. The previous survey in 2019 had identified around three lakh street dogs.

The census is expected to help BBMP understand whether its vaccination and sterilisation programmes have helped reduce dog population.

Hundred staff, half each from BBMP and from the state animal husbandry department, have been trained to conduct the census. "We have created 50 teams, each with two members. One person will drive the vehicle while the other will identify and upload the data of street dogs," says Dr K P Ravikumar, Joint Director (Animal Husbandry) at BBMP.

The geotagged image of each dog will be uploaded into an app, along with details like gender, whether neutered (based on clipping of ear), etc.

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Each team will cover 5 km of roads per day, between 6 am and 10 am when dogs are less active and easily visible. "The areas to be covered by each team have been mapped already. They will go to each area on two consecutive days to record the dogs there. After six days, department officials will go to the same location to confirm the population," says Dr Ravikumar.

The whole exercise is expected to be completed within 15 days.

After this, the raw data will be sent to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) where it will be analysed and the final population estimates given, as was done in 2019.

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Microchip pilot for tracking

Based on data from the Census, BBMP's animal husbandry department will start its pilot project of inserting microchips in 100 dogs. When the microchip on the dog's neck is scanned, details such as its vaccination and sterilisation status will be available.

A large proportion of dogs get missed out of BBMP's annual vaccination programme, while some get vaccinated more than once. So the microchip data is expected to help ensure proper vaccination.

"The ward where the pilot will be done will depend on the census data. We will check if the dogs face any adverse effects and how useful the programme is, and will expand it based on this," says Dr Ravikumar.