TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: Animal welfare organisations in Goa with the Animal Welfare Board of India, Worldwide Veterinary Service and Dogs Trust will launch Mission Rabies ~ an all-India mass canine vaccination ~ programme in Goa from September 1 in a move to eradicate the dreaded disease from the State.
In a statement, the Animal Welfare Board of India, said that the programme, being conducted as part of an all India programme, aims to vaccinate 50,000 dogs in 30 days in the states of Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal, Rajasthan and Assam.
“Mission Rabies will not only kick start a three-year campaign of sustained vaccination, targeting a total of 2 million dogs in India, but also provide surgical training for long-term implementation of the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme to tackle the problem of over population of street dogs,” she added.
The implementation of the programme in Goa will be in selected municipalities and panchayats of North Goa district in the first week of Sept and in S Goa district in the third week of September.
Any municipal councils or village panchayats which want the Mission Rabies programme implemented in their jurisdictions are requested to contact International Animal Rescue at 2268328 / 2268272 or People for Animals at 2256479 / 2263305 at the earliest. Dr Astrid Almeida, Veterinary Director of International Animal Rescue will coordinate the programme.
