One lakh dogs to be neutered in 5 years

Chennai: Chennai and Gurgaon will soon have less number of stray dogs, thanks to the Union health ministry that has sanctioned a five-year pilot project under which about one lakh stray dogs will undergo birth control programme over the next five years. Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) has given its concurrence early this month, AWBI chairman R. M. Kharb told Deccan Chronicle.

An expression of interest is also invited from animal welfare organisations and NGOs with credentials to participate in the mega project. The first-of-its-kind initiative will also help Chennai to a have a road map and a database to address issues related to canine population.

Recently, the Union health ministry expressed its concern over the increasing incidence of zoonotic diseases that spread from animals to humans.

Subsequently, the ministry expanded the scope of National Rabies Control Programme benefiting the state capital, Kharb said. “Old Chennai had always been a safe city with no incidence of rabies, but after the recent expansion of Chennai there are reports of growing dog population and the project will cover at least 70 per cent of the canine population”, he said.  

“We are also in touch with foreign countries that are testing new oral rabies vaccines and latest technologies to curb stray dog population and successful model will be followed in India”, he said.

The board which had its general body meeting in Chennai last week also discussed about its approach in the Jallikattu issue and its effort to prevent cruelty against temple elephants in south India, Kharb added.  

Welcoming AWBI’s five-year plan, an informed Chennai corporation official admitted, “Chennai has lost its prestigious tag of being a non—rabies city.
Earlier, rabies cases would occur only in northern and southern suburbs, but now with the merger of local bodies and poor waste management, both the rodent and dog population has increased in the city.”

For instance in Marina, the corporation has a better waste management in place, but still there are 40 to 50 stray dogs in the beach during any point of time.
The situation is worse in Koyambedu and Egmore, where the public discharge food waste breeding dogs and bandicoots, the officer said.

He also lamented that most of the animal activists in Chennai are publicity—oriented posting the pictures of rescued dogs, but they fail big-time, as they do not have database or a scientific solution to control dog menace in Chennai.