Delhi drops street dog 'removal, sterilization' plan before G20 Summit
What's the story
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has allegedly dropped its plans to catch and hide thousands of street dogs before world leaders visit the national capital for the much-anticipated G20 Summit next month, per reports. It's worth noting that this move comes after the MCD's plans to get rid of street dogs faced opposition from animal rights activists and Delhiites.
Details
Official release from MCD regarding matter
According to the news outlet First Post, the MCD's Department of Veterinary Services announced the move in an official release on Saturday. "Action plan issued by this office (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) regarding picking of stray dogs from the vicinity of prominent locations of Delhi in view of the G20 Summit is hereby withdrawn with immediate effect," the department said.
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Veterinary Services Department's previous statement on capturing street dogs
To recall, the MCD's Department of Veterinary Services previously announced that sterilization of street dogs would begin from Friday onward and continue till August 30 in the national capital. "All stray dogs picked up from the prominent locations in Delhi and shall be temporarily kept at the ABC centers run by [NGOs or private veterinary doctors]," Mint quoted a circular as saying.
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MCD yet to reveal reason behind scrapping plan: Report
However, authorities did not provide an official reason for scrapping their plan, according to the news agency AFP. Although an MCD official told The Indian Express, "We realized that there is no special need for picking up all the dogs from the areas mentioned in the previous action plan due to the G20 Summit, due to which we decided to withdraw our action plan."
Further information
Delhi saw significant rise in dog bite cases
A report by The Indian Express in March revealed that there had been an increase in dog bite cases in the national capital over the previous six months. While Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital reported around 29,698 cases, the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital saw 18,183 dog bite cases in this period. These numbers are higher than bites from any other animal, including monkeys and cats.