The Bi-Annual Dog Population Survey conducted by Humane Society International and Animal Help Foundation has found that 51.3 per cent of dogs have now been sterilised and vaccinated in the city.
The team has achieved the goal of 70 percent sterilisation/vaccination coverage in four areas: Baridhi (76.8 percent), Sidghora (76.6 percent), Bistupur (70.5 percent) and Telco (70.4 percent). Adityapur and Mango II have the poorest coverage with only 12.6 percent and 17.2 percent of dogs sterilised, bringing down the city average. The team has not started to actively work in these two areas, lowering the average.
Humane Society International and Animal Help Foundation, which is running the city-wide dog population and rabies management program, conduct these surveys in May and November every year. While the May survey sheds light on the total percentage of dogs sterilised, the November survey helps track the percentage of lactating females and puppies, which is an indicator for knowing the immediate effect of the sterilisation program.
For the purpose of the survey, Jamshedpur has been divided into nine areas (table given below). Teams of two travel on pre-decided tracks in the early hours of the morning and use the Open Street Maps Mobile Tracking App to count the dogs. In this app, created by HSI for dog population surveys, the team has to choose from options like notched (a ‘V’ cut on the dog’s ear) male/female, un-notched male/female, lactating female and puppies. These inputs help determine the numbers that are derived from the survey.
Dr. Amit Chaudhari, senior manager at Monitoring Evaluation and Impact Assessment said, “We conduct this survey on a pre-decided track. All surveys are conducted on the same track to give an accurate picture. Our surveys are showing increase in coverage and decrease in lactating females and puppies.”
During the last phase of the project, the teams will focus on increasing sterilisation coverage in Mango I, II and Adityapur to get closer to a city-wide 70 percent coverage. After the exit of HSI and AHF in December of this year, the Jamshedpur Utilities and Services Company and other local civic authorities will have to continue the sterilisation and vaccination activities to maintain the 70 percentage coverage, which is required to stabilise the dog population and control rabies.
Otherwise, if the programme is not sustained, the dog population will visibly increase in a few years’ time, and rabies vaccination coverage will drop below the requisite immunity threshold due to the influx of unvaccinated puppies. The next survey will be conducted in November this year.