Jan 16, 2009

Entertainment - Pamela Anderson steps in to save Mumbai dogs

US actress Pamela Anderson has appealed to the authorities in Mumbai not to put down nuisance stray dogs, instead calling for them to be sterilised.

"It is well established that killing stray dogs is not a permanent solution to controlling their populations," the former "Baywatch" star said in a letter to the municipal commission of Greater Mumbai.

"Dogs cannot use condoms, but with the municipality's help, they can be 'fixed' -- painlessly, quickly and permanently," she added in the letter, made public by activist group the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

There are thought to be some 70,000 stray dogs in India's financial and entertainment capital, and there are widespread concerns about their role in spreading disease, including deadly rabies.

Anderson's letter, which cited World Health Organisation and Animal Health Board of India support for mass sterilisation, comes after a legal ruling here to destroy nuisance dogs.

Expressing her concern at the court decision, the 41-year-old called instead for civic authorities to promote a sterilisation programme for stray dogs and those adopted and bought from animal shelters and pet shops.

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