Bangalore Mirror Covers Govt ABC Access petition
Www.Change.org/GovtABCAccess Update: BBMP has agreed to issue the circular. This petition by the CJ Memorial Trust has been gathering a lot of interest, particularly because a simple notice from the government particularly BBMP can ensure all public organizations, including Defence, academia and public sectors support neuter, vaccination, feeding and rescue rather than consciously resisting like they do now. This puts a lot of pressure on the system and also increases human animal conflict as well as resulting in a larger dog population and health issues because of unvaccinated dogs. Stray Off This Premises Maheswar Reddy/Bangalore Mirror 22 May 2024 Lack of access to govt campuses makes it difficult for volunteers to feed, rescue or carry out ABC and vaccination for dogs There are many volunteers working for the welfare of stray dogs in the city. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Animal Husbandry Department has been organising awareness programmes and also spending a huge amount on the animal birth control (ABC) programme for strays too. However, animal activists and workers of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have no access to stray dogs at various government establishments and private organisations. Due to lack of awareness on stray dogs, most of the security guards at these establishments refuse to allow animal activists and volunteers of NGOs to enter their premises to vaccinate and neuter strays. If these dogs are not fed on a regular basis, there is a danger of those dogs getting aggressive thus posing danger to the residents of the campus or gated community. The activists said there are stray dogs at military campuses, gated communities, and government establishments, especially Central Government establishments. They said that they could not either feed or facilitate ABC for such dogs as security guards do not allow them to enter the premises. “Higher authorities must issue directions to the guards to allow activists and volunteers to access dogs for vaccination and the ABC programme. There have been instances where guards allow volunteers to take dogs out of the campuses but don’t allow relocating them back to the campus. I am told that there are around 60 stray dogs at NAL campus but there is no clue whether these dogs are neutered,’’ said Nandita Subbarao, an animal activist. Activists have urged the BBMP Animal Husbandry Department to write letters to these establishments explaining the law and requesting access to dogs for ABC and vaccination, feeding and rescue. They want support from guards or residents of those establishments to the volunteers to facilitate ABC and other welfare programmes. “We have been slogging to have access to stray dogs at government establishments. If the strays are neutered and vaccinated, it will be a great relief to the residents. The access to these establishments will facilitate ABC, ARV, and feeding for the welfare of stray dogs,’’ said Priya Chetty-Rajagopal, Trustee, CJ Memorial Trust. Sukanya Sinha, resident of CV Raman Nagar, who works as a physicist at Indian Statistical Institute, said she would like to see restrictions on feeders and BBMP agencies to catch dogs for ABC and vaccination be lifted. “I live close to the DRDO compound. Lack of proper access to these areas results in these stray dogs not being neutered or vaccinated. This leads to an explosion of stray dog population and pose danger of potential rabies cases. I see so many unsterilised dogs roaming in the area and new puppies. This can lead to increased human animal conflict as well. Not allowing feeders will make the dogs hungry and aggressive,’’ said Sinha. She said that the city has a network of hyperlocal animal squads initiated by Chetty-Rajagopal. “Volunteers from the squads will be more than happy to work with the authorities of these restricted areas to arrive at a solution which will benefit humans and animals alike,’’ she said. Radha Amarnath of Asra said that Asra staff too faced similar problems at the defence establishments in Yelahanka. “Initially, security guards did not allow our staff to catch stray dogs for ABC. Later, they facilitated access to stray dogs. Now, our employees face no such problems,’’ she said. https://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/bangalore/others/stray-off-this-premise/articleshow/110312184.cms