Society launches ABC on Calicut University campus

KOZHIKODE: In recent years, the Calicut University was in the news not just for the achievements and issues but also for something out of the academics – the stray dog menace. Multiple numbers of stray dog attacks on students and staff were reported from the campus in last many months including the recent incident where a pregnant student was attacked creating a huge uproar. Giving a sigh of relief for the varsity authorities, the Humane Society International (HSI) launched an animal birth control (ABC) project on its sprawling 500-acre Thenhippalam campus in association with the animal husbandry department on Tuesday aiming at sterilisation of strays.

An eight-member expert group of the HIS is at University for the next one month for catching and sterilising strays. The programme covers not just the campus, but five panchayats within its 30-km radius. “Ahead of the project, we conducted a survey identifying nearly 200 canines on the campus. We are planning to cover at least 70 percent of the dog population during the project time,” said its education and awareness officer Sally Kannan.

“During January-April, we were able to sterilise over 450 dogs in Malappuram district. Since the University campus is an open space, it's a bit challenging compared to catching a dog from the street.” Apart from the sterilisation, they conduct awareness classes for students and public on animal conservation and dog sterilisation process. The eight-member team, including two vets, is led by programme manager Dr Shivender Rathore. The project is coordinating by the life science department. “It would help us reduce menace. The team is equipped with all modern facilities and are following international standard procedures,” said department head Dr E. Sreekumaran.