Thiruvananthapuram 11th September : Kerala’s Local Self-Government Minister M.B.Rajesh will host an important meeting on Monday to discuss urgent steps against the menace of stray dogs in the state.The state is experiencing a rise in dog attacks by stray dogs and the anti-rabies vaccination has proved ineffective in some instances.
The minister will meet with the top officials to come up with solutions to the problem.
Although there is a law in 2001 that prohibits the killing of dogs that wander around The government has a choice for controlling the birth of animals and vaccination of animals that are stray, but it is a restricted option.
They also want to stop any vigilance against wandering dogs by angry locals, as a number of cases of fatalities due to rabies were reported in different regions of the state.Four instances of deaths attributed to rabies due to suspected vaccine failures are scheduled for the Monday’s meeting.
The state Health Department has already withdrawn one batch of anti-rabies vaccines and has begun an internal audit to determine the effectiveness of cold chain storage facilities that safeguard the effectiveness of the vaccine.
In a meeting with media representatives in Kannur, Rajesh said: “There is a particular campaign to reduce the stray dog problem and we require the help of volunteer organizations as well as local bodies and animal rescue organizations in this.”
The state has approved a license for dogs as pets as well as the Local Bodies Department has also taken steps to eliminate the garbage that has built up in several regions of the state.
The threat of stray dogs and the vicious attacks of a group of wandering dogs on cyclists, walkers and schoolchildren have been reported in the social media profiles of Kerala which is giving the state government a major headache.
Rajesh added that Animal Birth Control (ABC) centers will be set up in 150 local bodies of the state in attempt to cut down on the number of dogs roaming around in an incremental way.
aal/vd
