New Delhi: On Tuesday, the urban development department announced a new set of guidelines to strengthen Delhi govt’s measures on management of street dogs. These guidelines cover key aspects such as population management, rabies eradication and reduction of human-dog conflicts, all in alignment with the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023. ABC Rules mandate a humane approach to managing community dog populations by requiring local bodies to capture, sterilise and vaccinate stray dogs before releasing them back into their original territories. The new guidelines bring some clarity for NGOs and allow them to involve the residents’ welfare associations in managing the street canines more effectively. SY Debi of Animal India Trust welcomed this change, saying that officially involving RWAs would improve the identification of feeding points. “This brings more clarity amid the confusion after the municipal authority was made solely responsible for fixing the feeding spots for dogs,” Debi said, adding that it would also benefit the feeders because they are more familiar with the dogs in their communities than NGOs or local civic authorities. This would make the task of managing strays more practical for everyone involved. The state govt also incentivised adoption of Indian dog breeds, with such acts now bringing benefits like exemption from registration fees. However, Vijay Kumar of Sonadi Animal Care Centre, who has been working in the field for the last 50 years, expressed skepticism about this. “In all the years I have been in this profession, I can remember only around 100 instances when people opted for an Indian dog breed. So govt will have to be patient when rolling out such incentives because the people still prefer foreign and exotic breeds.” Another notable initiative is the award for the best-maintained feeding spot by an RWA. NGOs have welcomed this move, seeing it as a step towards greater community responsibility. Many believe the award will encourage people to follow ABC Rules, which promote community involvement in stray dog care. Vrinda Sharma of People for Animals India also appreciated the guideline mandating only organisations registered with the Animal Welfare Board of India to work on managing the street canines. “This will bring all NGOs under the same umbrella,” said Sharma. “Many organisations are sterilising and vaccinating dogs and some are microchipping them too. But they are left out of the official account because they aren’t registered with AWBI. Even though registering takes up to a year, at the end of the day it ensures a degree of accountability.”
