After gap of 10 months, dog sterilisation restarts in Srinagar

Srinagar, Aug 18: After a halt of 10 months, the Animal Birth Control (ABC) program under which stray dogs are sterilised, has restarted in Srinagar. Effective dog sterilisation programs are the only scientific and humane way to control the population of stray dogs, the numbers of which have been disturbingly high in J&K.

Commissioner Srinagar Municipal Corporation Faz Lul Haseeb told Greater Kashmir that sterilisation of dogs was started earlier last week. “We have selected an agency for sterilisation of dogs and they have already begun the process. Dogs are being sterilised at our Tengpora facility,” he said. He said the agency has been awarded the contract for two years. “We are confident of scaling up the number of sterilisations that the previous pace and, this would help in bringing down the number of new births,” he said.

Sharing details, Haseeb said female dogs are being picked up from many Srinagar localities in a phased manner. “This is the accepted protocol; female dogs are prioritised for sterilisation. We have also seen that mother dogs are sometimes aggressive,” he said. He said, as per the directions, the dogs are picked up, sterilised, and released back in the same localities from where they are picked. In addition to sterilisation, the dogs are also vaccinated against rabies, and administered de-worming formulations. The sterilised dogs are given a notch on their ear to mark them before their release.

The SMC Commissioner said the state-of-art Chatterhama sterilisation facility was also being completed. “It should not take more than a month,” he said, adding that the addition of new infrastructure for sterilisation will help in sterilisation of more dogs per day.

Asked whether the sterilization drive will be continued during winter months, he said, “it is not recommended”. He however said that the SMC was exploring ways in which the sterilizations could be continued in colder months as well.

Over the past three years, 11,789 dogs have been sterilised in Srinagar. No sterilizations had been carried out since November 2024, as the agency contract had expired and no new contract was signed.