KOCHI: The Kochi Corporation offered technical assistance and training to civic bodies for intensive sterilisation in order to curb stray dogs. Mayor Soumini Jain intimated the corporation’s intention to the Chief Minister and minister for local self government. “In the past one year, the Kochi Corporation set up a modern veterinary hospital at Brahmapuram where over 2,000 strays were sterilised. Around a dozen dogs are being operated daily. It is in compliance with norms of Animal Welfare Board of India,” Ms Jain said.
The strays caught are tagged using GPS location system and brought to the veterinary hospital and sterilised apart from being given anti-rabies vaccination. The animals are lodged at the aftercare centre for two to seven days after which they are released in the same place. The sterilised strays are marked with a ear notching to identify them easily. The civic body is expected to complete sterilisation in two years. The civic body re-launched the ABC programme in 2014 after a series of protests. The scheme introduced earlier in 2011 had failed.
