An RTI inquiry by an activist from Surat, Sanjay Ezhava, has revealed that there are 2,754 stray dogs within the jurisdiction of the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC). While, the corporation asserts that it sterilised a staggering 30,000 dogs.
Recently, the menace of stray dogs has been in discussion following the death of Parag Desai, owner of Wagh Bakri, after he was attacked by dome stray dogs in Ahmedabad.
Only 2,754 street dogs, as of 2018
The Animal Husbandry Department, in response to the RTI inquiry, officially stated that there are 2,754 stray dogs according to a 2018 survey. This comes in stark contrast to the SMC’s claim to have captured 33,761 dogs over the past five years for sterilisation. The corporation reported an expenditure of Rs 3.28 crore for this.
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The SMC says that 33,761 dogs were captured between 2018-19 and 2022-23, and 30,300 dogs underwent vaccination and sterilization. This means that an average of Rs 11,931 was spent on each dog. The Municipal Corporation has not issued an official statement regarding this revelation.
Surat reports an average of 50-70 dog bite cases daily.
