The government will launch an anti-rabies vaccination drive in the State from September 20 to inoculate dogs in 170 local bodies that have been identified as hotspots of dog bite cases, Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development Minister J. Chinchurani has said.
While local self-government institutions that have reported 10 or more dog bite cases in a month have been classified as hotspots. Thiruvananthapuram has the highest number of hotspots with 28. Palakkad has 26 hotspots, while Kollam and Alappuzha have 19 each.
“As many as two-lakh dogs have been administered anti-rabies vaccine since April. In addition, 1.2 lakh post-bite vaccinations have also been provided to animals,” Ms. Chinchurani said at a press conference here on Thursday.
A 2019 census had recorded over 2.89 lakh stray dogs and nearly nine-lakh pet dogs. While six-lakh vaccine doses have been supplied across the State, the department would soon procure another four-lakh doses, the Minister said.
Ms. Chinchurani, who earlier chaired a high-level meeting, said vaccination and certification would be made mandatory for all pet dogs in the State.
While announcing plans to expedite the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme by strengthening 37 dog sterilisation centres, Ms. Chinchurani said attempts to augment such efforts by identifying more locations had hit a roadblock owing to local opposition.
The government would solicit the support of legislators to ensure the cooperation of local communities in their respective constituencies, she said.
The Minister said the steady progress that was achieved by the State in street dog sterilisation with the assistance of Kudumbashree groups had come to a halt following a court order last year.
All Kudumbashree ABC units had to be closed down after the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) reported various deficiencies. As many as 79,426 dogs had been sterilised by the Kudumbashree between 2017 and 2021.
