Lack of vet surgeons, dog catchers, supporting staff and infra for surgery a challenge
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala government has announced a massive scheme for killing ‘dangerous’ stray dogs and neutering others. However, when it comes to manpower and infrastructure, none of the veterinary hospitals or local bodies are equipped to execute this mission.
Lack of veterinary surgeons, dog catchers, supporting staff and infrastructure for surgery is a challenge for the state authorities to execute the plan which has taken the animal lovers by storm.
As per a survey carried out by the Animal Husbandry Department, there are around 9.23 lakh domestic dogs and 2.68 lakh stray dogs in the state.
The survey revealed that the female domestic dog population is fast depleting which is adding on to the stray population in the state. Currently, there are only 1,500 veterinary surgeons in the government sector and 70 posts remain vacant.
According to top officials, there should be dedicated veterinary surgeons in every district to monitor the implementation of the animal birth control programme.
Officials say that there should be at least 3000 veterinary surgeons to meet the growing demand relating to animal birth control at 978 panchayats, 60 municipalities and five corporations in the state.
AHD director Chandrankutty told DC that a minimum of 100 veterinary surgeons would be hired on a contract basis immediately to launch the drive. He said that to begin with, 50 centres would be opened across the state.
“The current staff strength needs to be augmented as most of the veterinary surgeons have to discharge other duties, including project preparations and desk work at local bodies. We will hire more manpower as per requirement for each centre,” said Mr Chandrankutty.
Lack of funds at panchayats and local bodies will affect the ABC programme. Kerala State Animal Welfare Board member M.N. Jayachandran said that the veterinary hospitals and clinics should be upgraded to ensure smooth execution of the ABC programme.
“In the all-party meeting held the other day, it was told that there are 5 lakh strays in the state which is wrong. The recent survey by the AHD shows that the claims are baseless,” said Mr Jayachandran.
