Samrakshan’s Animal Birth Control (ABC) Programme
Since March 2003, Samrakshan has been engaged in a collaborative venture with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, the State government of Delhi and other animal welfare groups of the city towards controlling the number of dogs in the city and reducing the incidence of human rabies. Towards this end we conduct mass sterilisation and vaccination (against rabies) of street dogs - called Animal Birth Control or ABC in short.
The Prahladpur center (North-west Delhi) - A facility with 21 kennels and an operating theatre in Prahladpur (north west Delhi) was handed over to Samrakshan through a lease agreement on March 10, 2003 by the Animal Husbandry Department of the Delhi Government. The kennels are used for pre and post operative care of dogs brought in for sterilization by our animal care attendants. Using an ambulance handed to us in April 2004 by the Municipal Corporation, we pick up dogs in a coordinated area-wise fashion so as to maximise the impact of sterilisation operations.
The Ghazipur Center (East Delhi) - In recognition of the effectiveness of Samrakshan's work, with effect from 24 May 2005, the Municipal authorities made available another complex with 21 kennels and one operating theatre located within the Ghazipur Veterinary Hospital to Samrakshan. This unit is situated in Ghazipur in East Delhi and will attend to a section of the city that is in dire need of a facility of this nature. This is the only place for sterilizing stray dogs located in this part of the city - one of the most densely populated areas of Delhi. In the initial phase this facility will operate in response to citizens complaints, with the dogs being brought in by Municipal personnel. Over time we hope to transition to an area wise approach, supplementary to continuing operations on dogs caught in response to citizens complaints.
As a result of our constant endeavour to reduce stress or trauma involved in our operations of dog handling to the minimum, we are the first and only animal welfare organisation in Delhi to resort to the sack and loop method for catching dogs. From the point of view of welfare standards, this is a far preferable alternative to other prevalent methods.
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