<p>Bengaluru: Nearly 10 lakh animals received treatment through the Mobile Veterinary Services of the animal husbandry department in the last two and half years, which helped in bringing down the death rate of livestock due to delayed emergency care.</p>.<p>The department launched the MVS initiative in August 2023 and since then, on an average, close to 1,000 animals have been treated every day.</p>.<p>Emergency care has especially helped cattle during calving. There have been numerous cases of cow deaths during calving owing to various complications. With timely treatment, several such incidents have been prevented.</p>.<p>“Sometimes the cow loses consciousness soon after giving birth, sometimes the uterus comes out, and there are even cases where delivery becomes difficult and the cow gets weak. In all these cases, it used to be very difficult to shift the cow to hospital and a lot of time would be wasted. Now, our MVS units reach the spot and provide treatment at the doorstep of farmers, saving many cows,” said Dr P Srinivasu, director, animal husbandry and veterinary services department.</p>.Stray dogs: Focus on shortage of veterinary staff as GBA to begin implementing SC order .<p>That apart, the MVS also helps treat sheep, goat, pig and other farm animals, transportation of which would have been difficult during emergencies.</p>.<p>“Transporting cattle to hospital is a big problem during an emergency, especially if they are unconscious or are in pain. If they provide treatment at the doorstep, it definitely helps prevent deaths,” said Ramappa, a farmer from Chikkaballapur.</p>.<p>Karnataka has 275 MVS units, with approximately one unit available for every one lakh livestock population. The units are positioned strategically to ensure that they reach the farmers within 40 minutes of raising a request.</p>.<p>The MVS units are equipped with diagnostic tools, drugs and other essential items. While veterinary ambulances operate from 9 am to 5 pm, a dedicated call centre works 24X7 for 365 days. Each ambulance has one trained veterinarian, one paraveterinarian and one driver-cum-attendant.</p>.<p>A centralised emergency command centre has been established at the state level and a dedicated toll-free helpline (1962) has been integrated with advanced computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems and GPS-enabled mobile veterinary units, ensuring efficient call handling, real-time tracking and rapid response to emergency veterinary needs.</p>.<p>While these units have helped farmers across the state, Belagavi, Tumakuru, and Vijayapura have reported a higher number of cases treated by the MVS units.</p>
<p>Bengaluru: Nearly 10 lakh animals received treatment through the Mobile Veterinary Services of the animal husbandry department in the last two and half years, which helped in bringing down the death rate of livestock due to delayed emergency care.</p>.<p>The department launched the MVS initiative in August 2023 and since then, on an average, close to 1,000 animals have been treated every day.</p>.<p>Emergency care has especially helped cattle during calving. There have been numerous cases of cow deaths during calving owing to various complications. With timely treatment, several such incidents have been prevented.</p>.<p>“Sometimes the cow loses consciousness soon after giving birth, sometimes the uterus comes out, and there are even cases where delivery becomes difficult and the cow gets weak. In all these cases, it used to be very difficult to shift the cow to hospital and a lot of time would be wasted. Now, our MVS units reach the spot and provide treatment at the doorstep of farmers, saving many cows,” said Dr P Srinivasu, director, animal husbandry and veterinary services department.</p>.Stray dogs: Focus on shortage of veterinary staff as GBA to begin implementing SC order .<p>That apart, the MVS also helps treat sheep, goat, pig and other farm animals, transportation of which would have been difficult during emergencies.</p>.<p>“Transporting cattle to hospital is a big problem during an emergency, especially if they are unconscious or are in pain. If they provide treatment at the doorstep, it definitely helps prevent deaths,” said Ramappa, a farmer from Chikkaballapur.</p>.<p>Karnataka has 275 MVS units, with approximately one unit available for every one lakh livestock population. The units are positioned strategically to ensure that they reach the farmers within 40 minutes of raising a request.</p>.<p>The MVS units are equipped with diagnostic tools, drugs and other essential items. While veterinary ambulances operate from 9 am to 5 pm, a dedicated call centre works 24X7 for 365 days. Each ambulance has one trained veterinarian, one paraveterinarian and one driver-cum-attendant.</p>.<p>A centralised emergency command centre has been established at the state level and a dedicated toll-free helpline (1962) has been integrated with advanced computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems and GPS-enabled mobile veterinary units, ensuring efficient call handling, real-time tracking and rapid response to emergency veterinary needs.</p>.<p>While these units have helped farmers across the state, Belagavi, Tumakuru, and Vijayapura have reported a higher number of cases treated by the MVS units.</p>