Dogs & monkeys

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, March 2002:

After three years of nonstop effort, the Visakha SPCA has
sterilized about 80% of the street dogs in Visakhapatnam, we
believe. We are now making special efforts to catch the remaining
20%, who inhabit the beaches and other open areas where they can
quickly run away from the dogcatchers. Our Animal Birth Control
program has now extended our services to adjacent communities and
nearby rural areas.

Most of the sterilized dogs have put on weight and are so
lazy that they sleep in the road, or just anywhere. We are now
hearing complaints from the public about the sterilized dogs barking,
sleeping on staircases, and chasing around at night. The community
dogs do not allow strangers to enter their territory at night.
As your January/February article “When the dogs are away,
the monkeys will play” predicted, people have began asking us to
catch monkeys in their neighborhoods, who are creating a lot of
nuisance. The Indira Gandhi Zoological Park says it is not their
duty, as does the city, the fire department, and the police. This
is quite serious. It has attracted a lot of media attention and we
are now thinking what to do lest the public take the matter of
monkeys into their own hands.
–Pradeep Kumar Nath
Visakha SPCA
26-15-200 Main Road
Visakhapatnam, India 530 001
Telephone: 91-891-564759
Fax: 91-891-528
<vspcanath@satyam.net.in>