Recently, there have been reports of stray dog attacks in Goa that have caught attention. Both incidents involved children. On one hand, a stray dog killed a toddler in Ponda, while on the other, another dog injured a Russian child at Betalbatim Beach. In response, the Minister of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services, Neelkanth Halarnkar, assured that the government is working "on a war footing" to address this issue. "We are working towards a 100% goal of sterilizing dogs in the state." Halarnkar told TOI. The government is urgently working to sterilize all 56,000 stray dogs, focusing on coastal areas, while urging locals to stop feeding strays irresponsibly and register pet dogs to control the growing threat.
Speaking about efforts to sterilize stray dogs, he mentioned that a dedicated team is working in various parts of the state to control the dog population. There are approximately 56,000 stray dogs in the state. "We have already covered Bardez and Margao, and for the past 10 to 15 days, the team has been focusing on coastal areas," he said.
Halarnkar also spoke about the contribution of local NGOs in the sterilisation efforts but emphasised the need for public cooperation. "NGOs, in partnership with Mission Rabies, are doing their best, but now we need public support. People who feed dogs must be more responsible, and I advise them to avoid feeding dogs anywhere," he said. He also appealed to pet dog owners to inform the Animal Husbandry Department about their pets so that the government can maintain an accurate register of all dogs in the state.
Also, he highlighted some challenges in controlling the stray dog population. "We cannot relocate stray dogs because they are territorial. Also, we are not allowed to keep them in regular shelters or cages," he added.