Already commenced vaccination of stray dogs, says Kerala govt

In the wake of increasing reports of dog bites in Kerala, the state government on Thursday said it has already commenced vaccination of stray canines in some districts where the instances of attacks were high.

Besides that, the government was also working to set up more Animal Birth Control (ABC) centres by identifying locations for the same and holding interviews for recruiting doctors and other staff, including dog catchers, to be deployed at these places, state Animal Husbandry Minister K Chinchurani said.

Speaking to the media at a press conference held here, the minister said that 170 hotspots have been identified in the state where there have been more than 10 reported dog bite cases. These hotspots would be given a priority during the state-wide mass vaccination campaign which is scheduled to commence on September 20 and will go on till October 20, she said.

"As per a 2019 census, around 2.83 lakh stray dogs were there in the state. The numbers would have increased. We are prepared to vaccinate around 4 lakh strays presently," a senior official of the Animal Husbandry department, who was also present at the press conference, said.

She also said that two lakh pet dogs have been vaccinated since April this year and around four lakh vaccines have been distributed to the various districts and orders have been placed for four lakh more.

On the ABC process, the minister said that there has been some opposition to setting up such centres in certain areas, but in view of the rise in dog bite cases, people are coming around to that idea. "Our plan is to bring under control the canine population in the state by 2025," she said.

According to the Animal Husbandry department, the vaccination drive was being carried out as an annual program as the vaccines would be effective only for a year. It said that Rs 30 would be charged per pet dog for vaccinating it and providing a vaccination certificate.

While the department has 78 dog catchers, it was training more after identifying those willing to take up the job in the various districts of the state. Asked whether rabid dogs are killed, the minister, as well as the department official, said there is no permission for the same.

The official said that as per the Animal Welfare Board of India guidelines, rabid dogs are to be tied up and kept in isolation and are not to be killed. "They will die within 10 days of depicting clinical signs of the disease."