Team Herald

MARGAO: South Goa Collector Tariq Thomas on Tuesday had a meeting with stakeholders to discuss the issue of stray dogs and reducing dog bites where the Public Works Department and Traffic Police were specifically invited.

Taking note of the fact that various decisions taken at previous meetings have not yet been implemented, the Collector asked the PWD to submit a status report within a week on the various recommendations made earlier to erect speed breakers and shift electricity poles away from the road.

The meeting that had representatives from various government departments decided to have a training programme for panchayat and municipal staff on registration of dogs as this was identified to be the key sector to keep stray dogs under check.

The training will be given during this year so that from January 1, 2019 the process of registering dogs will commence where breeding dogs and pet dogs will be registered separately. 

Dr Murugan Apupillai, Director of Mission Rabies, pointed out that a pair of stray dogs with a life span of six years is expected to give birth to numerous puppies.

As stray dogs feed on waste food strewn here and there, it was decided to activate the garbage management committees to ensure that waste food is not thrown by road side or in the open and instead send for composting or scientific disposal.

Taking cognizance of the fact that many foreigners feed dogs and pay the restaurant owners to feed them, it was decided to demarcate dog feeding areas in the coastal belt so that food would be served only at those places and not anywhere.

Mission Rabies also volunteered to prepare a draft resolution to be adopted by the gram sabhas and parent teachers association to reduce dog bites in their areas following which the government machinery would be activated to take action against the stray dogs.

GOACAN is planning to repeat the exercise it carried out in Mapusa post office where they interacted with postmen who come in daily contact with stray dogs to identify how best to deal with the animals.

Disclosing that the anti-rabies vaccine has resulted in zero rabies cases, so far this year, Dr Murugan said that two rabies cases were detected last year.

“While the vaccine has helped in preventing rabies, awareness of the immediate treatment is still not there in society as water wash is the best treatment after a dog bite, as it can takes away 85 per cent of the infection,” he said.

He argued that rabies is a cent per cent preventable disease and lamented that while polio vaccine was discovered only around 55 years ago, but the disease is eradicated; however, rabies is still prevailing, though the vaccine is nearly 100 years old.