Pune: In Five Months, PMC Sterilizes 1019 Cats; About 700 Cat Bite Cases Reported
Pune, 24th February 2023: Just like stray dogs in the city, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has started sterilization surgery for cats since last September. In five months from September to the end of January, 1,019 stray cats were sterilized and vaccinated against rabies. Since then they have been released back to their original place, while 690 Pune residents have been bitten by cats during this period.
According to the directives issued by the Animal Welfare Department of the government, the local bodies have now made it mandatory to sterilize stray cats as well as dogs. Implementing this, PMC has started sterilization of cats as well as dogs. Stray dogs are sterilized by the Municipal Health Department. On the same lines, the PMC had decided to sterilize cats in August last year to keep their number under control.
Stray cats wandering on the streets are caught and sterilized and vaccinated. After this, they are released again from where they are picked up. Citizens have also been provided the facility to complain to their nearest ward office. After the complaint, they will be sterilized and vaccinated.
Pune city has been at the top compared to other districts in the sterilization of cats. Out of 1,019 in Pune, only 35 cats have been sterilized in Pimpri Chinchwad. In the same Pimpri Chinchwad, 392 cats have bitten the citizens. Not a single cat has been sterilized in Raigad, Thane, and Ahmednagar.
Sarika Funde Bhosale, Chief Veterinary Officer, PMC said, “From September to January, 1,019 cats have been sterilized. An annual fee of Rs 50 is being charged for keeping a cat. It can also be registered online. Ten years of registration is mandatory at the time of first registration, and the fee for these ten years is Rs five hundred.”
Join Punekar News Whatsapp Group, Telegram, Instagram And Twitter For Regular Update about Pune City And Pimpri-Chinchwad
