By OUR STAFF REPORTER
Dehradun, 8 May: Dressed as giant condoms and holding signs that read, “Dogs Can’t Use Condoms. Sterilise Them,” two People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India supporters handed out leaflets promoting sterilisation here on Wednesday during Be Kind to Animals Week (5 to 11 May). The goal? To help residents brush up on their ABCs: animal birth control.
“Every year, millions of dogs and cats suffer on the streets or languish in animal shelters because there aren’t enough good homes for them,” says PETA India Campaign Coordinator Utkarsh Garg. “PETA India urges everyone to get their dogs and cats sterilised. And if you’re considering welcoming a dog or a cat into your family, don’t buy one – adopt a homeless animal instead.”
In Dehradun and across India, dogs and cats struggle to survive on the streets. Many go hungry, are deliberately injured or killed, get hit by vehicles, or are abused in other ways. Countless animals end up in shelters due to a lack of good homes. Every time someone buys a dog or a cat from a breeder or a pet store, animal loses a chance at finding a home. An estimated 70 million cats and dogs are living on the streets or in shelters in India, according to the State of Pet Homelessness Index, a report by Mars Petcare India in partnership with an advisory board of leading animal welfare experts.
The solution is as easy as ABC. Sterilising one female dog can prevent 67,000 births in six years, and sterilising one female cat can prevent 4,20,000 births in seven years. Sterilised animals also lead longer, healthier lives and, in the case of males, are less likely to roam, fight, or bite.
The central government has notified states of the Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023, under The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. As per the Rules, the Animal Birth Control Programme for the sterilisation and immunisation of community dogs is to be carried out by the respective local bodies, such as municipal corporations, municipalities, or panchayats. PETA India encourages dog and cat guardians to get their companion animals sterilised so that puppies and kittens who have already been born have the best chance at finding a good home and living in comfort and safety.
PETA India – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way” – opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview.
