Fecundity and longevity of roaming dogs in Jaipur, India

John F Reece¹ , Sunil K Chawla¹ , Elly F Hiby² and Lex R Hiby³

¹Help in Suffering, Maharani Farm, Durgapura, Jaipur 302018 Rajasthan, India

²World Society for Protection of Animals, 89 Albert Embankment, London, SE1 7TP, UK

³Conservation Research Ltd., 110 Hinton Way, Gt. Shelford, Cambridge CB22 5AL, UK

author email corresponding author email

BMC Veterinary Research 2008, 4:6doi:10.1186/1746-6148-4-6


Published:	31 January 2008

Abstract

Background

Estimates of demographic parameters, such as age-specific survival and fecundity, age at first pregnancy and litter size, are required for roaming dogs (i.e. dogs that are neither confined nor restricted) to assess the likely effect of proposed methods of population control. Data resulting from individual identification of dogs spayed as part of an Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme in Jaipur, India, are used to derive such parameters for the roaming dog population of that city.

Results

The percentage of females becoming pregnant in any given year was estimated by inspection of over 25,000 females caught for spaying from 1995 to 2006. The point estimate is 47.5% with a 95% confidence interval from 44% to 51%. Adult annual survival of spayed females was estimated by recapture of 62 spayed females from 2002 to 2006. The point estimate is 0.70 (95% confidence interval from 0.62 to 0.78), corresponding to an expected total lifespan of 3.8 years for a spayed female at one year old.

Conclusion

Recording the pregnancy status of dogs collected for spaying and individual marking of dogs released following spaying can provide estimates of some of the demographic parameters essential for predicting the future effectiveness of an ABC programme. Further, we suggest that recording the number and location of spayed and unspayed dogs encountered by the catching teams could be the most effective way to monitor the size and composition of the roaming dog population.