BMC to use new surgery technique for sterilising stray dogs

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Bhubaneswar: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to use the electrocautery surgical technique to sterilise stray dogs during its animal birth control (ABC) drive.
The method, which is in practice in modern human surgeries, controls bleeding while removing damaged or unwanted tissue.
The operation will ensure quick healing so that dog kennels are vacated and a new batch can be brought in for surgeries, officials said.
"Earlier, a scalpel was the perfect tool to cut tissues during sterilisation of dogs. This is the first time we will use the electrocautery technique to operate on thousands of dogs.
In this method, the device burns the tissue without stopping blood flow," said Debi Prasad, a veterinary doctor who leads the ABC programme of BMC.
Prasad said there is 0-1% fatality chance in the traditional method, which means one in 100 dogs may die because of post-operative complications. "In the electrocautery method, there will be no fatality. The kennels are of good quality. There will be proper food and rest during admission," he added.
As the civic body resumes its sterilisation programme after a two-year gap, the city's estimated canine population has surged to 80,000. A Hyderabad-based private firm has been contracted to perform around 70 sterilisation operations daily.
BMC additional commissioner Ratnakar Sahu said a dog census will be conducted within a week, and services of the sanitation workforce will be used for the exercise. "The comprehensive survey will reveal how many sterilised dogs are present, as they can be identified through a V-shaped nudge in their ears, the number of males, females, and puppies," he added.
According to BMC's plan, dogs will be counted by sanitation workers riding on motorcycles in each lane early morning. "The count will be done through direct sighting," Sahu said.
BMC has readied a total of 360 dog kennels for the surgery of stray dogs. "We have established new kennels with 120 beds each at Mancheswar and Saheed Nagar. As per standard practice, one vet can operate on up to 20 dogs in a day," said a BMC officer.
"We welcome the resumption of dog sterilisation and introduction of the new method of surgery. For more than 18 months, local bodies have not operated on the dogs," said Jivan Ballav Das, secretary of People For Animals, an animal welfare NGO.

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