The BMC plans to capture stray dogs in a ‘safe and humane manner’, sterilise and conduct anti-rabies vaccination, and provide care to them until they are fit for release. (File Photo)
Over four months after the Supreme Court issued directives to remove stray dogs from public spaces, plans to develop Mumbai’s first civic-run shelter for stray dogs have received an impetus with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) floating an expression of interest (EoI), inviting NGOs to build and develop a dog shelter in Malad’s Malwani.
Sprawled over seven acres in the western suburbs, the civic-run shelter home for Mumbai’s stray animals is poised to be equipped with healthcare facilities, kennels, isolation wards, operation and post-operative wards, feeding systems, as well as digital reporting mechanisms.
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According to a report by the BMC and an NGO, titled ‘Evaluation of Street Dog Population Management and Sterilisation Impact’, Mumbai currently has an estimated 90,757 stray dogs, a marginal decline from more than 95,000 dogs recorded in 2014. Until now, the civic body’s approach to managing the stray dog population entailed sterilisation and release of animals back into their territories.