K`mangala shows the way

There is a happy coincidence between progress of Animal Birth Control in Ward 151 and the fact that Koramangala has many activists and volunteers for Animal Welfare.

We are witnessing a shift in attitudes and mindsets of people who are now beginning to understand the need to feed and care for dogs so that they are easy to identify, capture, vaccinate and sterilize, apart from the love, companionship and security they provide.
Angels for ABC, a volunteer group, has meanwhile begun a drive to enlist participation by restaurants and wayside eateries to feed leftovers to groups of strays in vacant plots or on a quiet kerbside. Dogs needing special attention are those that are injured, ill, old or with young pups.
BBMP's Animal Husbandry division in conjunction with the Animal Welfare NGO for this area (which is Vets Society for Animal Welfare and Rural Development) has sterilized 478 dogs in ward 151 from April 1, 2011 to Jan 31, 2012; comprising 175 male and 303 females. In addition, a total of 901 dogs in the ward have been given anti-rabies vaccine from May 20 to June 30 2011. Dr BH Ramesh is Assistant Director South Zone, Animal Husbandry Deptt of BBMP, and can be contacted on 94806 83922. Residents are requested to participate in the ABC programme by co-ordinating with the NGO and van drivers for identification of strays that need to be sterilized, and to help in their capture by keeping them in an enclosed yard or shed before the arrival of the van. Females with young ones can be sterilized not before three months of giving birth, and pups from 5 to 6 months onwards.
Residents are requested to be extremely vigilant about unauthorised vans that pick up dogs for relocation, animal testing, meat or other illegal purposes. Apart from being an offence under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (1960) and the Supreme Court ruling of 2009, such activities result in massive dislocation and derailment of the ABC programme. New dogs of unknown immunization status then begin to move into the area. There is a possibility of rabid dogs moving in from the outskirts. In addition, new dogs struggle to establish a foothold in a new and unfamiliar territory, thus increasing the incidence of aggression and dog bites. Bandicoots and rats tend to multiply in the absence of dogs, and it is known the implications of rodent population explosion in the spread of disease.
Animal activists would also like to remind citizens of the sudden rise of human rabies cases in 2007, the year that BBMP made the expensive and brutal mistake of culling thousands of strays.
Residents are, therefore, requested to note down the registration number of every dog van that is seen in the area, and to take a few minutes to check with the driver for the vehicle's documents, as well as 'trip-sheet' showing details of the name of the Animal Welfare Organisation it is attached to. In case of any doubt, report immediately to the Asst Director BBMP who is the Zonal Officer in charge of the area. Ensure that dogs picked up are marked and tagged and returned to your street by the same evening. These simple steps will go a long way in keeping your neighbourhood free of stray-dog related problems caused by rogue elements in society.
CNVR stands for Catch, Neuter, Vaccinate, Release and uses a keyhole method of surgery to sterilize dogs with minimal blood loss and recuperation time. Dogs must be released back in the same area on the same day if the NGO in charge of your area is practising CNVR. It is a good idea to have a water trough on each street for animals to quench their thirst especially after surgery. These troughs also provide a much needed water source for birds and other animals.   
Some activists and volunteers for Animal Welfare in Koramangala are Rajani Chandrasekhar, Aditi Sengupta, Faye Morlini, Kim Maini, Vinita Vinod, Aniket Mitra, Naseema Sharief, Aravinda Anantharaman, Nevina Kamath, Debadrita Jadhav, Rajesh Kumar, Shreyashi Sengupta, Lata Heble, Algena Aranha, Shobha, Sowmya Gowda, Mohammed Yusuf, Raghu, Anjalit, Rowena Singh, Priya Singh and Sangita Dhanasekharan. In case of any issue pertaining to strays, you can inform your Block RWA so that it can be attended to in a proper manner with the co-operation and support of members and Animal Welfare volunteers.
Beautiful pet dogs of various breeds, sizes and ages can be adopted round the year from CARTMAN Foundation, 6th Block, behind Koramangala Club. Precious Paws Foundation is holding a puppy adoption camp on Sunday February 19, 2012, between 11 am and 4 pm at  # 202, 4th E Cross, 17th A Main, next to Anand Sweets, KHB Colony, 5th Block, Koramangala.
Residents are encouraged to consider adopting Indian dogs as pets which are second to none in beauty, loyalty, intelligence and especially for ease of care.
ABC, like the pulse polio programme, cannot succeed without Municipal will and public participation. The Animal Husbandry Deptt. of BBMP is trying to do its best and citizens need to support their work and co-operate with them to help strays, for the greater public good as well as that of the animals themselves. There is need to make ABC-ARV a local and a national success.
More than anything else, we need to get over our selfishness and show our respect and gratitude to creatures that have sacrificed so much for our well-being and progress right through the ages.

Be on alert!
Residents are requested to be extremely vigilant about unauthorised vans that pick up dogs for relocation, animal testing, meat or other illegal purposes. Apart from being an offence under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (1960) and the Supreme Court ruling of 2009, such activities result in massive dislocation and derailment of the ABC programme.

--AKSHAYA DEVA