Scattered incidents of dogs getting infected with rabies in Chennai has caused concern among activists on rising stray dog menace and poor implementation of Animal Birth Control (ABC) across Tamil Nadu.
Shruti Vinod Raj, member of the Tamil Nadu Animal Welfare Board (TNAWB), says the board received at least four complaints of rabies in the last few weeks. “Two weeks back, a chippiparai suspected of rabies was dropped off at a shelter and the dog bit the owner, jumped out of the cage and bit about ten other dogs in the shelter and died,” adds Ms. Raj. With a clenched jaw and excessive drooling, the dog showed signs of rabies.
In August, a rabid stray dog reportedly attacked three residents of a gated community in Porur. The incident caused panic among residents, most of whom wanted the dozens of stray dogs inside the apartment complex to be removed. Meanwhile, the Greater Chennai Corporation does not yet have a baseline on the number of stray dogs in the city. Several other local bodies lack the infrastructure for conducting ABC procedures.
