The country’s first animal birth con- trol centre has been set up in Lucknow and more such facilities will be built across the state soon.
Animal Birth Control centres are intended to be dedi- cated facilities where stray dogs and cats will be brought for sterilisation, and dropped back to the localities they were picked up from.
In these centres, trained para veterinarians will con- duct sterilisation and provide aftercare to the strays. This process was so far being undertaken by the Lucknow Municipal Corporation at temporary centres.
In this context, the ‘Dog Matters’ seminar, held by the urban development depart- ment on Thursday evening, discussed the Animal Birth Control (ABC) project in view of the raging debate over dog bite cases in the city. Speakers stressed that animals’ aggression towards humans is a responsive action to the aggression meted out to them by humans themselves.
Another major reason for dogs straying into residential areas is dumping and littering of food waste on the streets, said experts.
Animal rights activists, veterinarians, and several district administration officials were present at this convention to discuss the importance of the ABC project taken up in Lucknow, and the importance of a healthy coexistence of man and animals in society. ABC committees will be formed at the cen- tral, state, and district levels.