The Indian Army, which recently got a nod for re-notification of the crucial Mandal Thang Field Firing Range (MTFFR) in Galwan’s Shyok Valley in Ladakh, has a word of advice from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) experts: Take steps to curb proliferation of dogs roaming in the eco-fragile region.
They have also suggested the Army to adhere to adequate protocols to prevent littering and food waste out of the riversides and wildlife habitat, which often encourage habituation and contamination of the pristine habitat given that the entire area of MTFFR falls within the Karakoram wildlife sanctuary, a home to the rare flora and fauna.
“The canine can cause threat to wildlife in terms of predation, genetic hybridization and disease spread in the eco-fragile region,” the experts from the Dehradun-based WII said in their report ‘Biodiversity Impact Assessment of military firing and other associated activities in Mandal Thang Field Firing Range in Union Territory of Ladakh’.
“As the Army is the only establishment with permanent presence in many hostile areas, it is advised that, in collaboration with concerned organisations, free-ranging dogs which are often seen in the vicinity of army establishment near the Galwan Valley and along the DS-DBO road may be systematically removed through scientific and ethical means Trap-Neuter-Release i.e. possibly through an animal birth control measures or prevention of provisioning of food waste around such establishments.”