Unviable: Dog lovers livid over stray adoption drive in Bengaluru

The GBA’s stray dog adoption drive, announced towards the end of last year, has drawn flak from animal rights activists. 

The exercise shifts responsibility from the civic body and puts further pressure on overburdened dog caretakers instead of addressing the problem, they say. The drive, announced across the city’s municipal corporations, came at a time when street dog overpopulation and increasing dog bite incidents raised concerns about citizen safety.

Last week, it was announced that a woman had adopted 20 dogs in the North City Corporation. An activist pointed out that while it comes as a positive development, the truth is that adopters often end up adopting the dogs because they are in poor health or neglected. “The adopter feels it inhumane to leave them in a state of neglect,” the activist said.

A very small number of people have come forward to adopt the dogs since the drive was launched, shares Sunil Kumar, commissioner, North City Corporation. After one of the Supreme Court orders, the dogs were initially impounded and placed in observation centres attached to Animal Birth Control (ABC) centres. However, after dog lovers objected, the corporation discontinued the practice. He reveals that an average of 10-12 dogs are sent to animal welfare NGOs daily, usually after the corporation receives a complaint from residents. “We determine if they are neutered. If not, we complete the procedure before sending them to the NGO,” he explains.

Sadhana Hegde, founder, Sahavarthin Animal Welfare Trust, points out that the adoption drive ends up putting the onus on animal lovers, community feeders and caretakers, who are already burdened with multiple dogs.

“I have six dogs, some of which are rescues. Apart from the financial burden, one often has to grapple with various kinds of problems. It is very difficult for me to find a house, for instance. I have had to change homes multiple times because of neighbours’ complaints,” she reveals. 

She believes the answer lies in ramping up the ABC programme, which will be effective in reducing the dog population. Kumar states that the corporation plans to scale up the programme and increase the capacity of the existing centres, but nothing has been decided yet. He adds that anyone is free to adopt the dogs, and clarifies that the drive is not necessarily aimed at individuals who are already caring for multiple canines. Nevina Kamath and a group of other activists plan to take up the issue with the Karnataka Animal Welfare Board and the Animal Welfare Board of India. “Not every dog that has grown up on the streets will be happy when confined in small spaces. Additionally, removing dogs from the streets just makes space for the next pack of dogs,” she explains, adding that familiar street dogs often offer security, especially for women who are returning home late at night. “I feed one female dog on my street, and when I return home at night, I feel safer knowing she is around,” she shares.