Stray Dogs: AP Targets Birth Control, Vaccination by February
The authorities are also planning to develop kennels in the ULBs to make them more comfortable for stray dogs to stay put in them
Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh government aims to complete its endeavour for animal birth control and administration of anti rabies vaccine to all 2.3 lakh stray dogs by February next. This, it hopes, would give a major relief to the people facing the stray dog menace in the state.
As per the census of stray dog population, AP has 2.3 lakh stray dogs. Of these, 1.30 lakh have been sterilized and 1.28 lakh vaccinated. This covers nearly 62 per cent of the stray dog population with ABC and ARV.
The municipal authorities are focusing on ABC and ARV for the remaining 38 per cent of the stray dogs in the next few months with a target to complete these by 90 per cent by December and 100 per cent by February 2026.
The authorities are planning to avail services of the animal husbandry department by enlisting 40 assistant directors and 80 veterinary doctors for this purpose. Efforts are on to create 80 permanent posts of veterinary doctors to avail their services on a regular basis.
As many as four NGOs are involved in the ABC and ARV programmes, which are being taken up in all 123 urban local bodies. They have been allotted 70 ULBs for ABC and ARV drives. Reports suggest ABC and ARV are being held actively in only 45 ULBs at present. Efforts are on to activate the remaining ULBs also to fulfill the target.
The stray dogs that undergo ABC and ARV would be marked with a small hole in one of their ears for identification. The municipal authorities are also planning to fix radio collars to them after completion of ABC and ARV. They are trying to mobilise funds for this, which is being taken up in Anantapur by an IT firm on its own.
The authorities are also planning to develop kennels in the ULBs to make them more comfortable for stray dogs to stay put in them.
With regard to stray dog bites, the authorities say that on average, four to five per cent cases are being registered in the out-patient ward in the government hospitals. These hospitals are keeping anti-rabies vaccine ready so as to administer it to the victims.
AP commissioner and director of municipal administration, P Sampath Kumar said, “We have come up with plans to handle stray dog menace by completing ABC and ARV in the next few months. We are strengthening the system to deal with the issue on a permanent basis. We are even going to train dog catchers and come up with new designs for vehicles to effectively deal with the menace.”
Moreover, the civic authorities are appealing to the citizens not to feed stray dogs indiscriminately as “this is resulting in dogs getting involved in the fight for food and attacking those in the vicinity.”
