With dog bite cases on the rise, the State Government has decided to introduce the laparoscopic method for sterilisation of stray dogs across the State. The process will, however, start from Bhubaneswar.
This was decided at a meeting held recently under the chairmanship of Development Commissioner Injeti Srinivas to evaluate animal birth control (ABC) programme in the presence of Department of Fisheries and Animal Resources Development Secretary Bishnupada Sethi and Director of Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Services Srikanta Prusty.
According to reports, the dog bite cases are more than 2 lakh per annum. It was decided at the meeting that the solution to the problem lies in dog population control and vaccination against rabies.
It was revealed that the ABC programme in the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) area has been stopped since October 2013 due to non-availability of dog catchers.Srinivas asked the municipal authorities to implement the ABC programme in right earnest so that it can be undertaken in a time-bound manner for five years.
While the civic bodies’ authorities are facing difficulties to procure operation theatre (OT) instruments, it was decided to procure the equipments in a centralised manner through the Directorate of Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Services (DoAHVS). The DoAHVS would chalk out a consolidate action plan, which would be taken up by the civic bodies, said the sources.
A senior officer said the Veterinary Hospital at Saheed Nagar in Bhubaneswar would soon have a laparoscopy machine for sterilisation, which would help the animal recover soon after the sterilisation is completed.