Kozhikode Corporation takes aid of app for street dog survey

KOZHIKODE: The city Corporation has used all possible methods to standardize the street dog survey campaign. The World Veterinary Service provided a mobile application WVS worth Rs 2.5 lakh free to the Corporation for the smooth conduct of the survey.

The City Corporation began a week-long survey on March 3 to record the street dog population within the city and take necessary measures in order to curb its increasing menace. The survey was part of the Jeevanam Athijeevanam programme launched by the corporation’s Animal Birth Control Programme. Other than the technological assistance for the survey, the services of various social service organisations, around 50 NSS volunteers from the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Wayanad, residents associations and Kudumbashree workers were deployed by the Corporation.

Speaking about the mobile application, ABC project implementing Officer Dr Baby Kuriakose said, “The app can be used for all animals and all projects and it will even allow you to take a picture of the animal being surveyed, which will then be uploaded with the data. Normally this application is used at the time of vaccinations of dogs to record the number of dogs being vaccinated and also to help guide the vaccination team in to areas that may have been missed. Even here we could make use of this application to survey street dogs and ensure almost 70 percent of them were surveyed.”

All these surveys herald the opening of the hi-tech Animal Birth Control (ABC) hospital, Poolakadavu, under the City Corporation. According to sources, the centre would be opened by the last week of April. The centre will provide 24- hour consultancy and veterinary emergency services. Surgeries, vaccination and other related services would be part of the hospital, officials said.