Alappuzha municipal authorities said they hoped to inoculate the entire stray dog population within its limits in two weeks.
| Photo Credit: T. SINGARAVELOU
The Alappuzha municipality in Kerala will launch a mega anti-rabies vaccination drive for stray dogs from Thursday (August 8, 2024). The move comes after more than 20 people suffered dog bites in different parts of the municipal area in recent days.
Alappuzha municipal authorities said they hoped to inoculate the entire stray dog population within its limits in two weeks with the help of two teams. The strays will be captured by specially trained dog catchers and injected by veterinary doctors. The inoculated dogs will be marked using fabric paint before being released.
In the initial phase, the drive will be conducted in the Poonthoppu, Kommady, and Thathampally wards, where incidents of dog bites have been reported. The campaign will be extended to other wards in the following days, said an official.
Rabies infection has been confirmed in dogs that bite people in Poonthoppu and Kommady.
An all-party meeting chaired by Alappuzha municipal chairperson K.K. Jayamma on Tuesday (August 6, 2024) discussed the growing stray dog menace in the municipal area.
Animal Birth Control programme
Officials said that once the vaccination drive was completed, the civic body with the support of Alappuzha district panchayat would implement an Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme for the vaccinated dogs. Initially, dogs will be sterilised at the ABC centre at Kanichukulangara. The centre is equipped with an operation theatre, recovery rooms, and kennels among other facilities. It can sterilise up to 20 dogs per day depending on the availability of veterinary surgeons and staff.
After sterilisation, dogs will be kept in kennels for post-operative care for a few days before releasing at the places of their capture after affixing ear tags for identification.
Though another ABC centre has been set up at Sea View ward in Alappuzha municipality with funding from the district panchayat, it has not been opened yet.
Sources said that strict provisions set by the Animal Welfare Board of India had delayed the commencement of sterilisation and other activities at the centre. Once the ABC centre is made operational, the sterilisation of dogs in the municipality will be shifted there from Kanichulangara.
